every christmas eve i make my kid endure yet another showing of it a wonderful life . i also thoroughly enjoy bad santa . so sue me . i admit it . i like cheesy and schmaltzy movie . i like excellent and intelligent one too and but a with so many thing and variety be a good thing . what would the christmas season be without the annual cinematic ka ching ka ching of santa in all his guise and from edmund gwenn to billy bob thornton . fred claus will make no one forget bedford fall and but i do not believe a christmas film should have to reach iconic stature to succeed . fred be a perfectly ok holiday movie and with enough humor for the adult and sufficient charm for the kid . my wife and i laugh a lot and even if most of the humor be obvious and vince be just be vince . paul giamatti be a top notch santa and which help a lot . not a great flick and and unlikely to become must view for anyone annual christmas tradition . but my wife and daughter and i enjoy it for what it be and holiday schmaltz with a small dash of spice . there nothing wrong with that .