Will Ferrell - Warm, Innocent, and Full of Christmas Spirit
Movie Reviewer, a storyteller, A Big Giant Sap, a believer of fate, mother of 2
| Pros |
|
DEC
29
2008
Elf —
I had always assumed that Elf would be a film with some crude humor. Not that I would have minded, as I've definitely been known to enjoy that type of movie, but I just don't want it mixed up with my Christmas movies. Christmas movies are supposed to be warm and full of spirit with a message about believing in the end. Once I finally couldn't avoid it anymore, I was shocked to find Elf as exactly what I always wanted in a Christmas movie.Will Ferrell plays Buddy the elf. He wasn't born an elf, but a human, and was raised by elves at the North Pole. It wasn't long before he was outgrowing everything at the North Pole that was elf-sized, including the lap of the man that had acted as his father, Papa Elf (Bob Newhart). Buddy learns he was adopted and that his real father is alive and well in New York, and leaves Papa Elf, Santa (Ed Asner), and the other elves behind and heads to the Big Apple to find his dad. Raised with the elves, he's still very childlike, and just wants to play games with his dad.
In New York City, Buddy finally meets his real father, Walter (James Caan). Walter is unconvinced, to say the least, of Buddy's claims to be his son and shuns him. Buddy ends up at Gimbel's department store where he is mistaken as part of their Christmas display. He outs Santa as a fake, claiming he knows the real Santa, and while it seems like he's be a good fit here, he fits a little too well, and is kicked out, but not before befriending a pretty clerk, Jovie (Zooey Deschanel). After a paternity test, Walter has to face the facts that Buddy is his son, and invites Buddy to stay with him, his wife (Mary Steenburgen), and his much younger son.
Things of course don't go very smoothly for Buddy living at Walter's house, and that's what most of the film is built on. The humor isn't crude at all, but actually clean enough for families to watch, whether Buddy is drinking syrup from the bottle, pouring it on his spaghetti, or pouring a small bottle of hard liquor into his hot chocolate as he works in the mail room at Walter's publishing company, thinking it's yet more syrup. In fact, the relationship that blooms between Buddy and Jovie is quite innocent and sweet, with absolutely no improprieties at all.
Not only did I enjoy watching Elf very much, but I can see it becoming an annual favorite to watch during the holiday season. It had all those things I look for in a Christmas movie, being warm and innocent, with a great spirit that's carried throughout the film, and all of this seems to come straight from Ferrell himself.
Elf is recommended by LauraBelle
 |
Search Amazon.com for Elf prices |
Comments about LauraBelle’s Review
More reviews by LauraBelle
Nature's Source Natural Bathroom Cleaner Review - "Easy Enough For a...
Clinique Superpowder Double Face Makeup Review - "Adds to That Flawless...Lawry's 30-Minute Marinade, Teriyaki with Pineapple Juice Review - "Fruit...Clinique Foundation Review - "End Result Is Flawless"
Comedies
Gladiator - Extended Edition (Three-Disc Extended Edition)
5.00 overall from 9 reviews
5.00 overall from 9 reviews
Finding Nemo
4.83 overall from 790 reviews
from $10 at 8 merchants
4.83 overall from 790 reviews
from $10 at 8 merchants
