A pause for Mr. Claus...

Fred Claus opens Friday at the Eagle and I am reminded of an old Arlo Guthrie dittie from the '60's, "The Pause of Mr. Claus." Here is the relevant verse:

"Santa Claus has a red suit
He's a communist
And a beard, and long hair
Must be a pacifist
What's in the pipe that he's smoking?"

Guthrie's screed was an anti-establishment attack against the FBI, then busy with infiltrating Vietnam War peace groups. He wondered satirically why this weird outsider (costumed, bearded, and long haired) was not under more suspicion when he looked (costumed, bearded and long haired) pretty much like a hippie...

Fred Claus is a family comedy, but it does play up a related outsider theme. This time it is the world from the Black Sheep's point of view. Vince Vaughn is "Fred," brother of Santa, and Fred gets invited to join his brother at the North Pole after a run-in with the law.

Comedy ensues:

"Not only surpassed the lame promises of its advertisements, it proved to be one of the best films I've seen all year. Has that rare wonderful mix of warmth, depth, and funny."
--Ross Anthony, HOLLYWOOD REPORT CARD

Take a minute to click on the review. This is a movie warmer and funnier than its ads, which is a nice change of pace.

*****

We are pleased to bring you Michael Clayton this week, the extremely well-reviewed George Clooney film. If you have a minute, click on this summary of reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.

We've made it an Eagle Choice selection, which means if you have previously gotten an Eagle Choice card, you can get into the film for the matinee price regardless of when you go. It's too late to join the club in time for this movie, but if you want to join for the future, send an email to eaglechoice@eagletheater.net and include your name and address so we can send you a card. Include the names, addresses and email addresses of those others in your family that would like a card.

If you want to learn more about what an Eagle Choice film is, go to www.eagletheater.net and click on "Eagle Choice Film Club." Basically, we are talking about good films that are well-reviewed and might not otherwise find an audience in a small market.

****
We thought that "Dan in Real Life" was going to be here this week, but we had a glitch, which is a highly technical term meaning "we're working on it." Michael Clayton was chosen instead.