Elf

Rating: 6/10 (9 December 2007)

You may expect this film to be a little on the kiddie side, but in fact it it is a great family comedy with jokes for all ages. The story is told by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), who tells the story of his son. Basically Santa (Edward Asner) was delivering at an orphanage, and a baby managed to get out his crib and crawl into Santa's sack (to get a toy), and he was brought to the North Pole. Papa raised this boy, he named Buddy, as his own, and as he grew he learnt the elf world as if he was one. But it is after he overhears that he is human that Buddy (Will Ferrell) decides he should find his real family. Papa gives him a photo he has kept of his birth father, Walter (James Caan), who deals with book publishing, and is unfortunately on the naughty list. So Buddy sets off to New York, and with his childlike innocence discovers all the wonders of the city. When he does meet Walter, he does not believe he is his son, or in Santa, so till he can get to him again, Buddy stays in the near toy store, where he meets his beautiful love interest, Jovie (Zooey Deschanel). The second time he meets his Dad, Buddy is confirmed from DNA results of his biology, and Walter does eventually let him come home with him to meet wife Emily (Back to the Future Part III's Mary Steenburgen) and son Michael (Daniel Tay). Walter does try to make Buddy more normal by taking him to work, and giving him normal clothes, but his childish behaviour still causes chaos, especially when the employees are talking to short children's book writer Miles Finch (Peter Dinklage), who Buddy keeps calling Elf. Walter loses his patience and sends Buddy away, but when Santa crashes in the middle of central park because he has run low on Christmas spirit to power the sleigh, everyone shows they believe by singing along with Jovie to help, even Scrooge-like Walter. The highlights for me are all of Ferrell, but more especially the snowball fight and the large burp after drinking a whole bottle of Coca Cola in seconds. Good!