Movie Two Hundred Eighty Six
Elf is the story of a child being adopted by elves in the North Pole and returning to New York City as an adult to find his real father.
After a baby crawls into Santa Claus’s (Ed Asner) bag and brought back to the North Pole, Santa and his elves have no choice but to raise him. Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) raises Buddy (Will Ferrell) as his own, but when Buddy towers over all the other elves and isn’t quite the toy-making genius they all are, he starts to suspect something isn’t right. Papa Elf tells buddy that his real father is Walter Hobbs (James Caan) and lives in New York City, so Buddy decides to go and live with his biological father and spreads holiday cheer to everyone around him.
Yeah, I’m going to be that guy that is still reviewing Christmas movies after Christmas is over, sorry.
Elf is one of the handful of films in my regular holiday rotation but unlike Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story, it’s a film that I generally only watch once a year. I love Elf almost as much as those movies but I think the lack of nostalgia for me makes Elf a great movie to watch but once a year is enough to satiate me.
I don’t care what anyone says, I will always consider Buddy the Elf to be Will Ferrell’s greatest role. The naive but pure-hearted Buddy is a great character and Ferrell is perfect for it. Elf is a movie that could have easily been crude and loud, but Ferrell keeps it in check and knocks it out of the park. The supporting cast is great too with Zooey Deschanel, Peter Dinklage, Mary Steenburgen, Andy Richter, Kyle Gass, Amy Sedaris, Artie Lange, Jon Favreau (also the director of Elf), etc. While I’m on the subject, why doesn’t James Caan get better work now? He’s great.
Where my two aforementioned favorite Christmas movies both have a sometimes cynical take of the holidays and focus on the follies, Elf focuses on Christmas spirit and believing in miracles. The childlike sense of wonder the film exudes makes you really want to believe in Santa and this really sets it apart. It’s not quite a movie for kids, but it’s definitely a movie for the whole family. There’s the perfect balance of humor for all ages here and throw in all the holiday stuff and Elf is just an absolute joy to watch.
I give it 4 “my finger has a heartbeat”s out of 5.
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Yeah, I think this is soon going to become a Christmas classic. I do agree this is Will Ferrell’s best role, and I laugh out loud each year I see this. Nice review.
It is one of my favorite Christmas movies, happened to watch it this year as it was on TV. Very enjoyable and glad you love it as well.
Well, technically you are in the twelve days of Christmas. And if you go by the Eastern Orthodox Church you have until January 6th for Christmas. So I think you are OK w/ the Christmas reviews.
Good! Because I still have two more to do…
This review is spot on. Such a great movie and Will Farrel’s finest role!
Thanks!
Will never get’s old even for the young at heart. Great heartwarming film 😀
I guess I need to see this one a few times because I honestly didn’t care for it much when I first saw it. Maybe I overlooked something. Nice review, sorry for the small rant.
I know a few people that didn’t care for it but it’s grown on them.
Maybe I’ll give it another shot next Christmas.
Just saw this for the first time on Christmas day this year, and I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Really fun film overall and not at all what I was expecting.
Do you think it will make its way into your rotation?
Hmm.. I don’t really have a rotation, but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing it again during next year’s holiday season.
this is the only will ferrell movie i can watch. anything else – he’s annoying as hell, but i love this movie. my favorite scene is when he’s singing in the locker room when zooey is taking a shower.
I know what you mean, yeah. I love that scene too, her reaction is great.
and when he covers his face and runs into the locker
Nice review. This one’s pretty fun, even if it gets a bit too sappy and preachy towards the end. Ferrell is great in the role.
The end doesn’t do the rest of the film justice, yeah.
WF is PERFECT in this role. I adore this film. I think it’s a truly great Christmas film with a really brilliant message. I’d be hard pushed to find something I dislike about the film. Seriously. 🙂
Ditto re: WF and finding things to dislike. I’m so glad this film exists.
Me too! Have you seen ‘East Bound and Down’? TV series. I think it’s an acquired taste. Stars Danny McBride and WF has a bit part in it. He’s very, very odd in it…. such a funny show though!
I love that show!
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