One of the wonderful things about holidays with the family is that it affords you time to sit around and be lazy as all get out around your house and watch movies you might otherwise not watch or movies that you think the folks might actually be able to deal with. It also makes you feel awfully lazy when you do it for too long. Last night afforded me the opportunity to watch a few movies and to feel terrifically lazy.
After feasting on the most amazing steak dinner I have ever had with my mom we decided to give Fred Claus a try. Now, I should say that I chose to give Fred Claus a try because my mom is so laid back that it would have taken a truly awful looking movie to get her to say she was unwilling to watch it and even then she might just be nice enough to not bother arguing. Being as that I saw Fred Claus last winter and happen to enjoy Vince Vaughn I convinced her it was a good call. An Elf of sorts for folks who prefer Vaughn, Claus is the story of Nick "Santa" Claus (Paul Giamatti) and his older, substantially less successful brother (Vaughn). Oh, and the potential end of Christmas as we know it (not to mention the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy).
Yes this movie screams pre-teen in just about every aspect and it definitely fulfills that prophesy with its cheese and stereotypical story book ending. It is also a perfect example of a movie that could be really enjoyed if you can avoid feeling embarrassed at times (like a terrible Ludacris cameo or jokes about secret service elf's...although I'm still a little embarrassed those two scenes were filmed anywhere, ever). It is the sort of movie that demands you to use your imagination and not take yourself too seriously. A fun and heartwarming movie to watch for the holiday season - not Vaughn's best work by any stretch of the imagination but it'd be a safe assumption that it is better than his new one (Four Christmases - which I will be reviewing soon). That being said - halfway through my mom opted to go to bed instead of finish it so take this recommendation with a grain of salt - it made me smile but your folks might not be impressed.
With a lack of good programming on TV I followed this up with Leatherheads. George Clooney directed this piece (no master involved) and his smug pretentiousness showed through throughout. The story of the legitimization of professional football by convincing a college age "war hero" to join its ranks is more the story of how George Clooney thinks he is awesome and we've all heard that one before. Entertaining at times but hardly an entertaining movie, even just as far as "romantic comedies" go - which is not a compliment.
All in all I learned something very valuable last night - the best possible movies to watch during the holiday season are holiday movies from growing up. I would have looooved to see Charlie Brown or even that claymation Rudolph from back in the day, and I know neither my mother or I would have been disappointed. So although I think Vince Vaughn was a genius in Old School and George Clooney was great as Archie Gates in Three Kings back in the day, I'd take Yukon Cornelius and Peppermint Patty over them any day of the week.