When Fred was a boy, his exasperated mother would ask, "Really, Frederick, why can't you be more like your brother?"

Because his younger brother was a saint. Really. The future St. Nicholas, later known as Santa Claus.

Yes, "Fred Claus" takes a lot of license with the history of the holiday and the jolly (or, in this case, not so jolly) man in the red suit but it's all in the spirit of fresh family entertainment.

"Fred Claus" opens with the birth of little Nicholas, a fat, happy baby who already is working on his catchphrase of "Ho, ho, ho." Fred loves Nicholas and vows "to be the best big brother in the whole world," but that pledge slowly dissolves into resentment, anger and estrangement.

Fast forward to the present, when Fred (Vince Vaughn) is a glib repo man in Chicago who lands in jail and is forced to call his brother, Nicholas (Paul Giamatti), and ask for help. In return for bail money, Fred has to promise to visit the North Pole and lend a hand in the workshop.

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'Fred Claus'

• Starring: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti
• Rating: PG for mild language and some rude humor
• Web site: fredclaus.warnerbros.com/

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It turns out Fred isn't the only outsider in toyland. A devious efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) has arrived to see if Santa can keep up with the skyrocketing demand for toys. In Fred, he may have found Santa's kryptonite.

And Santa, being Santa, tries to make family peace by reuniting Fred with their parents, which simply rekindles the old resentments. On top of that, the production and delivery of toys in time for Christmas are threatened, too.

Giamatti's Nicholas is no twinkle-eyed movie Santa cut from the cloth of Edmund Gwenn. He's got a hang-dog expression, a tendency to eat when stressed and an inability to be firm with Fred. As he tells his wife (Miranda Richardson), "I'm a saint, sweetheart. Tough love's a little difficult."

But the movie is named after Fred, not Nicholas, and Vaughn talks, dances and schemes as fast as he can. Some of Vaughn's lines sound ad-libbed and he tosses them off as if he had another dozen rejoinders at the ready, like a human pitching machine.

Although Fred does dance like a dervish in a couple of scenes, the movie has its quieter moments, too, and a bit about sibling rivalry that will zoom over the heads of children as if it were Santa's sleigh. It's a bit reminiscent of an old WB show, down to one of the participants.

While "Fred Claus" is no "Miracle on 34th Street" and it's about 10 minutes too long," it's better than the Tim Allen trilogy or the forgettable "Deck the Halls" or "Christmas With the Kranks." It also boasts three Oscar winners in Spacey, Kathy Bates as Ma Claus and Rachel Weisz, who is Fred's unhappy girlfriend.

A technique called "digital head replacement" allows the noggins of John Michael Higgins and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges to be placed on little persons. Higgins plays Santa's lead elf, while Bridges is a disc jockey, and the effect is relatively seamless and solves the thorny problem of casting children to play aged elves.

Directed by David Dobkin ("Wedding Crashers") and written by Dan Fogelman, "Fred Claus" borrows some sight gags from "Elf," recycles "The Santa Clause"-like references to the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy, plugs a Warner Bros. film franchise, and throws in an orphan who wants a puppy for Christmas.

It may not be an instant classic, but it's funny, heartwarming holiday fare.