Elf Movie Review:

Buddy (Ferrell) wasn't your normal elf at Santa's workshop. He wasn't that good at making toys and the rest of the elves struggled to find something that he could do. Buddy wondered why he wasn't like everyone else but until he overheard two elves talking he had never considered the awful truth. He was a human. Shocked, Buddy decides to travel to New York to find his real father and bring him some much needed Christmas cheer because to his horror Walter Hobbs (Caan) was on Santa's naughty list.

Christmas movies tend to be overly sugary sweet and full of false, Hollywood, commercial seasonal cheer but Elf is slightly different.

Yes it does have a healthy dose of sugar coating, especially at the end but the whole film has one big thing going for it, the talent that is Will Ferrell. This is the breakout role for the Saturday Night Live veteran, who's movie career so far had been filled with entertaining but small supporting roles in films like Old School, Zoolander and Austin Powers. With a real gift for physical comedy and a genuine ability to play the character with a childlike innocence, Ferrell makes Buddy instantly likeable to both adults and children. From him not fitting in, in the North Pole to his Elf out of the workshop discovery of New York City, Ferrell draws you into the character by providing some laugh-out-loud moments for all the family.

There is good support from James Caan, as Buddy's reluctant father. The straight man to Ferrell's mania, Caan easily copes with been on Santa's naughty list by playing Walter as a man who thinks he has spawned a loony. Edward Asner makes a good Santa. Bob Newhart is great as the narrator of the story and as Buddy's adoptive Papa. While slightly underused, the talented Zooey Deschanel gets another chance to shine.

Director Jon Favreau, who is better known as an actor from films like Daredevil, Swingers and Deep Impact, captures Christmas cheer with just the right amount of syrupiness. He makes the movie accessible to both children and adults making Elf a true Christmas family movie.

With just the right amount of Christmas cheer, laugh-out-loud situations and the emerging talent of Will Ferrell, Elf is a feel good, seasonal movie that will nicely get you in the mood for the festive time of year.

Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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Based on the kind of goofy premise Adam Sandler might have gone for, this film doesn't deserve to be half as funny and engaging as it actually is! Buddy (Ferrell) is a man who was raised at the North Pole by Santa's elves. He doesn't realise he's human; he just thinks he's a bit tall, and rather slow at making toys. But Santa (Asner) and his adoptive Papa (Newhart) finally break the truth to him and encourage him to find his biological father (Caan) in New York. Of course, the big bad city is alien to this Christmas-loving elf-man, but as he bumbles along he manages to get under the skin of his Scrooge-like dad, sweet stepmum (Steenburgen), little brother (Tay) and a cute girl (Deschanel) who works as an elf in Gimbel's Christmas department. But Santa is having trouble with his sleigh, and Buddy may be the only guy who can save Christmas!

Yes, the story is truly silly, but it maintains a timeless quality that lets us suspend our cynical disbelief. This is helped hugely by the fact that the script is loaded with warped, deranged bits of humour that keep grown-ups laughing all the way from a vicious Keebler joke at the beginning, through a series of groaner running gags, to the Ringwraith-like Central Park Rangers at the end. Ferrell is hopelessly miscast, but that's part of the film's charm. He's too old and stiff and yet makes Buddy loveable anyway. Casting pros like Asner and Newhart in key roles is a stroke of genius, as is the hilarious cameo from Dinklage. Favreau directs the film like a holiday classic--bright and wacky, with witty touches and references that will make the film enjoyable over multiple viewings. He mishandles the climactic action scene though, only just barely capturing the script's witty blend of humour, sentiment and excitement. But this doesn't dampen the film's Christmas spirit at all; I promise you'll leave the cinema with a silly grin on your face.

Rich Cline

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