If you're looking for just one good Christmas movie this holiday...

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2005)

When I first saw the trailer for Elf a little more than six months ago, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that it would be yet another Christmas movie rehash, with elves, Santa Clause, and snow to draw its audience. But to my surprise, when I first saw Elf, I was more quickly drawn back in awe than let down. It's totally different than what I was expecting. Yes, it has elves, Santa Clause, and snow in it. But it's not the same as everything else you may have seen this holiday season. Elf is it's own movie. Not confined to the age-old tradition like a lot of other films.
First of all, the acting is simply top-notch and superb to the max. There can be no denying that. Will Ferrell is, without a doubt, on the top of his game in Elf. He displays all the signs of a good, up-and-coming actor. As if his comedian skills were not grand enough, now it looks like he is set on outdoing himself with acting. While some of his previous movies have done nothing but upset me, this one definitely made up for all of those. Then there is James Caan, who plays the role of Buddy's (Will Ferrell) father. As a grumpy, miserable old man, Caan churns out a good performance, and his change in attitude toward the end of Elf leaves the movie on a touching note. Not to forget the supporting cast, however. Bob Newhart (Papa Elf) and Zooey Deschanel (Buddy's "interest") both do their thing, especially Zooey who's character I really liked.
Christmas movies tend to be quite like one another. But something in Elf sticks out and makes it a whole different movie. I'm not sure if it was Ferrell eating candy and syrup-covered spaghetti, the snowball fight that ensued in between, or the epic ending that featured Santa Clause escaping from the media, but Elf just clicked with me.
As for complaints about Elf, I have but a couple that I'd have to say narrowly took away from the film. First and foremost is the predictability of it all. The ending is all too obvious; it wouldn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that everyone would leave happy, and Santa Clause would race off into the night sky shouting "ho ho ho". Nor was it too hard to guess that James Caan would come around sooner than later. Again, quite predictable. Also, the ending bugged me. I didn't like the angle of the media chasing Santa Clause. Up until the end, though, Elf was nearly flawless But these two flaws don't hurt the score of Elf too much.
So if you're looking for one good holiday film this Christmas, look no further than Elf. I overlooked it from the beginning... heck, you probably will too. But give it a try. I promise you, it will definitely be worth your time!