Ferrell tries his best, but the writing is unambitious and mediocre

Rating: 5/10 (8 November 2003)

So-so film with a few really funny moments. It always seemed like the comedy could have gone two steps further than it did. There are tons of missed opportunities and jokes that are built up without payoff (the news broadcast at the end of the film is a perfect example). Elf earns points for being a decent family film in that it has almost no objectionable content  one very long belch is about it. It's nice that it doesn't resort to gross-out humor, but it could certainly stand to be less lame a lot of the time. Will Ferrell, a former Saturday Night Live actor, stars as a human who is raised by elves until his enormous height compared to the other elves makes this fact all too obvious. When Ferrell finds out that his father (James Caan) lives in New York City, he goes out and finds him. It becomes a standard fish-out-of-water comedy. The writing is half-hearted, so the weight of the movie ends up resting wholly on Ferrell, who does his damndest to carry it on his shoulders. I've always been a fan of Ferrell, even if he did create a couple of truly obnoxious characters on SNL. He actually does a fine job in Elf, playing a truly manic but sweet idiot. The filmmakers should have trusted Ferrell more, because it really shoots itself in the foot when it begins to concentrate on a very cheesy and unbelievable crisis in the elf's newfound human family. Ferrell has run away from home, and Caan and his family think they can find him in New York City  which, of course, they do. And Ferrell (along with his family and his girlfriend) have to convince the people of NYC to have faith in Santa Claus so his sleigh can fly. They do this by having the girlfriend (a very cute Zooey Deschanel, who might look a bit too much like Reese Witherspoon to become a star) sing 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' on the news. I was enjoying the film, but this kind of formulaic garbage just ruined it. It's nice to see Bob Newhart, Charles Durning, and Andy Richter. One of my favorite comediennes, Amy Sedaris, was also there somewhere, but I must have missed her (was she one of the elves?). 5/10.