Now, admittedly I’m a sucker for a good Christmas movie. Every film critic has his or her weakness, and for this sentimental sap, it’s a nice, family-friendly, Christmas tearjerker (tears of happiness, love and good will, of course). I’ve been goaded and ridiculed on many an occasion for this by a certain friend and fellow film aficionado; however, I remain unapologetic for this. After all, he loves “Love, Actually,” and his weakness is of the sci-fi persuasion – dork, right?

I say all of this to say that “Fred Claus,” the first of the impending rush of Christmas flicks to hit the market this season, did not make the cut into my canon of Christmas perennials.

The film, directed by “Wedding Crashers” director David Dobkin, stars Vince Vaughn as the titular brother of Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti). Despite the obvious problem of creating a family film with the director of one of the raunchiest comedies in recent memory, albeit a funny one, Vaughn is limited as he is most on his game when given free reign with his talent. The PG rating of Fred Claus eliminates a hefty portion of what makes Vaughn’s recognizable and particular shtick work.

Surprisingly, my reservations proved to be ill-wrought as the film seemed to suffer little due to its PG rating. Whether this is because its other flaws are more pronounced is left irrelevant after viewing the film.

The film, which follows the story of Santa’s envious and troublesome brother Fred, who is contracted to work at the North Pole in order to relieve monetary problems, suffers from being stuffed to the brim with Christmas clichés. Vaughn, and particularly John Michael Higgins who is digitally shrunk to play a self-conscious elf, offer moments of honest hilarity.

However, it seems as if the Christmas comedy newbies behind the production of this film have watched every holiday movie in the history of film (yes, including “Jingle All the Way”) and prescribed to an axiom of Christmas films instead of crafting their own. Apart from imagining a brother for Santa, the film offers nothing new. The same tired holiday formulas are employed and the same trite characterizations offered, only this time, Vince Vaughn occasionally transcends the film with his trademark wit. Occasionally.

Of course, this is the wizened cynic in me speaking. The sentimental sap would tell you the film does offer moments of enjoyment; not competence or originality, but of good old fashioned Christmas spirit. But this is also the film’s flaw. It relies on this audience reaction so much it would seem as if the writers cared more for star involvement than for plot.

If the film would have been granted more liberty in its plotting, a new and unique mix of Christmas and comedy could conceivably have been forged. As is, the film offers too little comedy and too irreverently and undeservedly saccharine a Christmas for either to work. What this adds up to is a C-grade Vaughn comedy infused with a C-grade Christmas flick. The sum? Thanks to the Christmas and the Vaughn (I can’t go against my nature, can I?), a little more than that of its parts. C+

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