The first truly great Christmas film since "A Christmas Story"

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 2003)

Of course, "A Christmas Story" is in a class by itself, as it's one of the best films ever made about growing up in America - not just a holiday flick. "Elf" is a more typical Christmas movie, just an unbelievably good one. I pity any other Christmas movies coming out this year; they will suck almost by default after this.
The secret, I think, are director Jon Favreau's smart choices. He keeps Will Farrell and James Caan in character 101% of the time - he never allows them to comment on their characters in any way. Both play it absolutely straight and it works like a charm. Favreau also deserves some Golden Genius Award for casting Ed Asner as Santa and Bob Newhart - one of our national treasures - as Farrell's adopted Papa Elf. Both are priceless and will be long remembered for this movie.
Favreau's other smart choice is to keep the length of most scenes very short; he gets in, gets the laugh and gets out. It's very easy for this type of movie to become embarrassing or even cruel for the "special" character at the center. Favreau knows this and never lets a scene drag on long enough for our amusement to turn to pity.
As a film in general, "Elf" isn't important enough to rate more than a 7 or 8, but as a Christmas movie, it's a 10+.