A holiday classic, despite its over the top moments

Rating: 9/10 (7 June 2019)

Okay, I am not a Will Farrell fan, or at least, not of the projects he often selects for himself. As a recent example, I think Holmes and Watson is almost criminally bad. Like Blazing Saddles except with the opposite of humor. And Elf is definitely over the top in broad, slapstick humor, but I still see it as that rarity, a modern Christmas classic. I don't know that I watch it every year, but close to it.
I like that it didn't bow to the pressure of being rude or scatalogical in its humor, so that during those moments when it makes me cringe, it isn't from worrying what the child watching with us is seeing that they perhaps shouldn't. I saw plenty of reviewers who gave it one star as the worst movie ever, some wishing they could give it zero stars, and that is fine. I have seen movies and tv shows listed here on IMDB that are called the best ever AND the worst ever by different people. But it would be fun to know the real reason they trash it. I don't think it really offends their sense of artistic expression that much. There is something else at play. But never mind. Suffice to say that I personally rank Elf up there with my favorite holiday movie, A Christmas Story, though for wildly different reasons.