Not a bad Christmas comedy at all, though nothing great

Rating: 7/10 (25 December 2003)

Jon Favreu and Will Ferrel as a director/star combo is a good premise and execution here in Elf, as they create a film that assuredly works for the whole family. This is because the film is as much directed towards fans of Ferrel from Saturday Night Live (which ranges with both sexes from little kids to people in their middle ages) as it is towards those looking for the holiday spirit. Bottom line is, he makes the movie fun to watch, among a cast of well knowns (the likes of Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, Mary Steenburgen, Artie Lange, and Andy Richter pop up, and James Caan has a better than average supporting role). Here, Ferrel plays Buddy, a man who's grown up adopted in the North Pole. Raised by Elves, it pains him to find out that he isn't one, and that his father didn't even make Santa's 'Nice' list this year. He decides to seek him out in New York, and has a brief stint working in a department store, followed by the mailroom of his father's office in the Empire state building.
From what I described of the plot it sounds a little routine, and it is, but there are some things in the story that are inspired, though most of the joy in the film comes from Ferrel's Buddy. Some might take his performance as over the top or lame, however I think he finds just the right bit of gleeful un-awareness at what he does, good and not so good, and there are a few real howlers too. Best scene- Buddy confronts the department store Santa in front of the children (this is a near draw with the scene in the recent Bad Santa where Billy Bob beats down the plastic reindeer in the store). Only the last part of the film, the Christmas Night bit, doesn't work at all. A nice little Christmas comedy, which can be seen after the Holidays too. B+