'Elf' set to be holiday box office giant
By Brian Betz
In the true holiday spirit, Jon Favreau's "Elf" is a heartwarming Christmas movie that brings out the kid in everyone while incorporating the comic genius of Will Ferrell.
Ferrell plays Buddy, a human that climbs into Santa's bag as a baby only to find himself atop the North Pole to be raised by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart). When Buddy learns from Papa Elf and Santa (Ed Asner) that he's actually a human surrounded by true elves (which explains his overgrown stature) he sets off to New York City in search of his biological father, a children's book publisher, Walter Hobbs (James Caan).
Hobbs is a disgruntled, scrooge-like businessman whose job is in jeopardy. Of course, once the naive Buddy hits the Big Apple, Walter's struggle to keep his position worsens. He is forced to deal with a loud, strangely dressed Buddy who shows up at his work unannounced. When Buddy eventually moves in with Hobbs and his wife Emily (Mary Steenburgen) and son Michael (Daniel Tay), he leaves the quiet mother confused and the teenage son embarrassed of his new brother.
From there the plot turns to Buddy's attempts to convince Hobbs that he isn't just some delusional street-bum, but an actual elf that trekked from the North Pole. The challenge is whether his efforts will make Hobbs believe that elves, and everything else associated with Santa Claus, actually do exist. Throw in Buddy's romance with Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), an elf attendant at a department store's Christmas land, and Favreau seems to have an unfathomable sub-plot. In the midst of all this, Ferrell's comedic brilliance shines. The SNL alum takes the simplest encounters with taxicabs, spaghetti and bathroom stalls and turns them into laugh-out-loud situations that only the signature mannerisms of a long-time stand-up comic could pull off. What's even more impressive is that Ferrell's comedy succeeds in a major role where the content has to remain suitable for children, as wasn't the case in arguably his most memorable film, "Old School."
Diverting from his more mature, adult appealing comedies such as "Swingers" (1996) and "Made" (2001), Favreau defined his young directing career to date with the PG-rated "Elf". Though the "Grinch" theme was predictable from the second Walter Hobbs appeared, it hardly detracted from the purpose of this movie. This is a feel-good film that takes all our childhood beliefs about Christmas and packages it into a film that will appeal to viewers of all ages. "Elf" may be the best family holiday flick since "The Santa Clause." It will grab your interest from the start and keep you watching just to see what antics Buddy has in store. Though predictable, this film is definitely worth the price of admission as long as you take it as a traditional attempt to get into the Christmas spirit.
Grade: B+