To a lot of us, mid-November is the most wonderful time of the year. And I'm not merely talking about Thanksgiving or the approaching celebration of Hanukkah and Christmas. For me, mid-November is the definitive signal that my favorite perennial holiday movies are queuing up on TMC, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, REDBOX, and practically everywhere else! These wonderful films range from the incredibly beautiful black & white classics like "Holiday Inn" (1942) and "Miracle On 34th Street" (1947),to the more contemporary films such as "The Hebrew Hammer" (highly recommended by my Jewish friends, a 2003 comedy so sacrilegiously funny I don't dare describe it here),and finally I swing back to my trusty holiday twin comedies, "Home Alone" (1990) and "Home Alone: Lost in New York" (1992). (I can't bother with the disappointing remainder of the series. Yawn).

By early December I am quite eager to screen the subject of this review, the oddly maligned and ignored, "Fred Claus" (2007). And my question, every year, is always the same: "Why the heck isn't this film more loved?"

"Fred Claus" stars the absurdly improvisational humor of Vince Vaughn as Fred, the beautiful, and zany Elizabeth Banks, the highly versatile Oscar winners Kathy Bates and Rachel Weisz, and Oscar nominated Paul Giamatte as The Big Man himself, Santa Claus (and also Fred's younger brother). But this particular movie isn't really about Saint Nick. It's about his big brother, Fred.

To say this movie has no charm would be incongruous with reality. To say it's not funny would be blasphemy. Indeed, there is more charm and humor in "Fred Claus" than one would expect in its well-paced one hour and fifty six minutes. Plus, it's beautifully filmed, and features several ingeniously clever special effects.

As always, no spoilers here, but I can reveal that most of the action takes place in chilly Chicago and the even chillier North Pole. It's the Christmas season rush at the North Pole and there is much at stake, notwithstanding the future of St. Nick and his Elves. "Fred Claus" has it all: Drama, humor, adventure, romance, and even a handful of subtle, uplifting messages. It's not War and Peace. Its not Citizen Kane. It's "Fred Claus."

Sure, this film didn't quite light up the box offices. And yes, it lost a lot money. But so did "The Wizard of Oz" and "It's a Wonderful Life." (Both are now considered pure classics). Still, when it comes to art and entertainment, Time is often the wiser. Give "Fred" another chance. Pretty please?

After all, even Ebenezer Scrooge eventually came to his senses, albeit belatedly. But he was better for it in the end.

There is a scene in Fred Clause where there is a Siblings Anonymous meeting where you have Frank Stallone, Stephen Baldwin and Roger Clinton talking about living under the shadow of a famous brother which shows great wit, originality and insight.

If only other parts of the film could had reached such heights.

What we get is a silly concept film. Fred is Santa's older brother. He has a cynical lifestyle working as a Repo man in modern day Chicago having commitment issues with his English girlfriend and is hustling money by pretending to raise money for charity.

Fred by the way has been around since the middle ages and been 'frozen' in time. He is a man who has lived for centuries and in all that time is still hustling for money.

Santa by the way looks like an old man but is actually Fred's younger brother. Santa is churning out presents for kids all around the world and brings joy to the world from the North Pole.

Along comes Kevin Spacey as a time and motion man who is hell bent in closing Santa down.

Where does he come from, who does he represent and who the hell he thinks he is thinking he can shut down Santa is never answered by the film.

Fred is roped in to help is younger brother and try to get along with his family at the same time he suspects Spacey of being up to no good.

What good intentions the film had quickly falls apart because it makes no sense. The actors are up against a nonsense script that takes a lot of goodwill from you. It does have some schmaltzy charm.

I watched this with low expectations, expecting it to be a mess. But I was surprised. Fred Claus is far from a Christmas classic, but there are much worse as well, for example Deck the Halls was very mean-spirited and unfunny, both of which I often see Fred Claus get criticised for.

I do agree it is very predictable, and that the direction is on the slack side. And there is also some uneven pacing and moments of disjointed dialogue. That said, it does look good with lovely cinematography and scenery, and the soundtrack is great and does put you in the mood for the Christmas season. Also there are moments of inspired physical comedy and while they have been better Vince Vaughan and Paul Giamatti(who was so good in Sideways) do display a good chemistry and both deliver spirited performances.

So overall, this is not a bad movie. It could have been better, but it is almost certainly not a disaster. 6/10 Bethany Cox