'Fred Claus' (PG)(out of four)

Do we really need another Christmas movie with a caricature of the big guy in the red suit trying to cope with the challenges of the modern world? Think Tim Allen in "The Santa Clause" or potty-mouthed Billy Bob Thornton in "Bad Santa."

But "Fred Claus" takes a tired story and puts a new twist on the tale.

Vince Vaughn is the Fred of "Fred Claus," the overshadowed big brother of an even bigger icon, Santa Claus. The movie starts out in typical "once upon a time" fashion. In a classic case of sibling rivalry, a baby is born to the delight of doting mother Kathy Bates, leaving the older brother cast aside. He becomes resentful, angry and jealous.

Flash ahead several hundred years (it's all explained in the movie how we end up in modern day) and Fred is living in Chicago as a repo man, ironically in a job where he takes items from people, while brother Nick has become, well, you guessed it, jolly Old St. Nick, played by Paul Giamatti. Fast-talking Fred is light years away from his brother, Nick, of the North Pole.

But when Fred needs to come up with some fast cash, the only one he's got to call on is his good-natured brother to bail him out. Nick will do it, with one caveat: Fred has to come and help Santa and the rest of the elf factory get ready for their big day.

And that's when the ball gets rolling in "Fred Claus." Following the usual fish-out-of-water storyline, the 6-foot 5-inch tall Fred towers over the elves and wreaks havoc in Toyland. One other twist is a shark efficiency expert, played by Kevin Spacey, who wants to shut Santa down in an effort to streamline the costly operation.

A stable of big-names pepper the film including the aforementioned Bates, Ludracris, who is digitized down to dwarf size, as a Santa's workshop DJ, Rachel Weisz as the meter maid whose relationship with Fred is always on the rocks, and Miranda Richardson as Mrs. Claus.

Vaughn and Giamatti's performances are over the top and the film is overproduced, but isn't that fitting for Christmas, when everything is outrageously excessive anyway?