"It's just nice to meet anyone human who shares my affinity for elf culture."

Rating: 7/10 (7 July 2020)

In a concession to my eleven year old granddaughter, I watched "Elf" yesterday with her. Quite honestly, I thought she was suggesting "Alf" to me, so when she pulled it up on Netflix I managed an inward groan to myself. The end result though, was that I came away pleasantly entertained by the naive innocence of the Elf character Buddy, disarmingly portrayed by Will Ferrell. I don't usually go for pictures starring former SNL comedians because they're usually mindless fluff, but this one had a way of holding your attention to see what silliness comes next. I got a kick out of the sight gags and Buddy's one-sided view of a world he had no knowledge of once he hit New York City on a mission to find his real father. The script writers apparently weren't too concerned about him finding his real mother, a thought that occurred to me throughout, especially with each time that photo of a young Walter Hobbs (James Caan) was shown with his one time girlfriend. But that quickly gets lost in the shuffle of Buddy's precarious encounters with the staff at Gimbel's and Santa's (Ed Asner) arrival fueled by the Christmas Spirit provided by all of Buddy's new found friends and family. I can't really claim that this will wind up a holiday staple with me, but for a one time experience, "Elf" will bring a smile. Because in the words of Buddy himself - "I like to smile. Smiling's my favorite"!