Humbug

Rating: 1/10 (14 December 2003)

The small children surrounding me didn't laugh at -Elf-. Their small mouths grimly wired shut, they didn't laugh at the "zany" hi-jinks, they didn't laugh at the "jokes," and they certainly didn't smile when Will Ferrill played "cute." I can't blame them. -Elf- is a derivative, predictable march through a series of contrived mishaps and ham-fisted doses of insipid tenderness. James Caan is horribly miscast and fails to display any of the warmth that his part calls for. He's not even a good straight man. He's just joyless and angry, rushing through his lines. At least, Bob Newhart does a decent job as a fatherly elf. And the special effects were pretty good. I've never seen a better flying sled. Still though when the lights came on, the children and I felt more holiday despair than joy.