A Modern Holiday Classic

Rating: 7/10 (12 December 2006)

Will Ferrell has escaped the curse of most SNL veterans who try to transition to major motion pictures (at least those who have tried to make the jump in recent years) and manages to produce the most consistently funny films of probably any of them (including Mike Myers).
"Elf" is destined to be a holiday classic, one of those you watch every year around the holiday season. Ferrell, a human baby adopted by elves (some scenes of him with his elf dad, played in a dead pan performance by Bob Newhart, provide the film with some of its funniest sight gags), goes off in search of his real father, a search that takes him to NYC. The joke of course is that Ferrell, wandering around the streets of New York in his elf costume and eating gum off of subway station railings, doesn't seem out of the ordinary in a place like NY, where people are used to crazies, and where every department store has a troupe of workers dressed as elves anyway.
He finds his dad (played by James Caan), falls in love (with Zooey Deschanel) and helps save Christmas when Santa's sleigh malfunctions due to a lack of Christmas spirit. It's all very funny and harmless, with a sense of humour that manages to satisfy both those who like their Christmas cheer served warm and those sarcastic cynics (like me) who watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and root for the Grinch.
Favorite line, delivered when Ferrell gets a job in the mail room of a children's book publishing house: "This reminds me of the North Pole, except that it smells like mushrooms and everyone looks like they want to hurt me."
Grade: A-