A Christmas movie that doesn't suck! (***1/2)

Rating: 8/10 (20 November 2003)

Good Christmas movies are a rare find, great Christmas movies even more rare. At this point, I wouldn't yet count "Elf" among my very favorite Christmas movies, like "A Christmas Story", "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" or "Ernest Saves Christmas" (that's right, I said "Ernest Saves Christmas"), but I really loved it, and I think that it may join those other movies once it ages a bit. It really is that good.
Will Ferrell is definitely an acquired taste, but it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't be amused and delighted by his very enjoyable performance as Buddy, a human who was raised by elves in the North Pole after he crawled into Santa's toy bag as a baby.
Thirty-or-so years later, when Buddy has outgrown his elf surroundings, Papa Elf (a droll Bob Newhart) suggests he go to New York City to find his real father (James Caan).
Naturally, there are no big curveballs thrown at the audience. There are lots of fish-out-of-water jokes, an innocent romance with a co-worker (Zooey Deschanel, who is great and looks much better with blonde hair than I expected), and a heartwarming ending, as expected. But this isn't the kind of movie that needs to be extra-original, and it more than makes up for its lack of originality with huge amounts of heart and charm.
Having a pro actor/filmmaker like Jon Favreau directing (and not just some hack) is also definitely a plus. He gives a formulaic Christmas movie style and feeling, filling the soundtrack with lots of big band jazz and assembling a great supporting cast that also includes Mary Steenburgen, Faizon Love, Peter Dinklage, Andy Richter and KG! (Tenacious D fans will know who I'm talking about)
All in all, this is a very fun, very pure movie that I heartily recommend to anyone who, like me, thinks that most Christmas movies suck. This is the real deal, and I know that because it made me feel like a kid again.