ha ha ha ho ho ho yuk yuk yuk

Rating: 8/10 (25 September 2008)

When an SNL movie comes out, I always worry that it's going to have a few "good bits" in it but struggle as far as genuine narrative is concerned. Take "LADIES MAN," for instance. "ELF", on the other hand, rocked. It's both genuinely funny and sweet. It does have two problems, however. I think if they had a second chance to do this movie, they would get rid of the "gross bits"--the long Coca-Cola burp, the drunken mailrroom romp, the eating of used chewing gum--and play up the elfin stuff like the snowgunslingering, the bond between brothers, the Elf's really sweet tooth, his sweet infantile love for his father, and give us more of Bob Newhart's very touching Papa Elf. The second problem is the very weak, overly theatrical nonsense at the end with Santa's sleigh and the singing (off-key!)in the park. I know they needed to somehow conclude the movie, but that ending was childish--I think they lost the adults in the audience on that one. On the whole it is still a movie I watch every chance I get--I just shut it off right before the end.