ELF

 

 

I was actually kind of surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie Elf. I admit, I'm not too big of a Will Ferrell fan since I feel every cinematic character he's done is more or less a variation of the characters he played on Saturday Night Live. But, like I said, I kind of liked this one. In this movie, Will plays Buddy who's an oversized Elf at the--where else!--North Pole. His "father"--played by Bob Newhart--finally breaks down and admits that he's not his real dad (I guess the height difference wasn't a dead giveaway!). So he travels to New York to find his real father--played by James Caan--who's a rather disagreeable children's book publisher. It probably goes without saying that Buddy's, shall we say, naivety clashes with his father's--again, shall we say--negativity even though he warms over his wife and young son. Along the way, Buddy gets a job as a--what else!--department store elf and winds up getting a love-interest (played by that weird-ass chick on that New Girl show Zoey what's-her-name). It also probably goes without saying that his father finally has enough of Buddy's naive meddling ways and tells him to get out of his life. His young son convinces him to give Buddy another chance and they find him along with Santa Claus--played by the otherwise cantankerous Ed Asner--who's sleigh has crashed in Central Park. Buddy helps Santa reattach the motor on his sleigh and attempts to leave before the mounted police show up. However, Santa informs the young boy how people don't have the Christmas spirit the way they used to. So the kid takes Santa's "naughty & nice" list and recites said list in front of TV cameras that have gathered outside the park to try to convince people that Santa is real. Encouraged by the boy's actions, Buddy's love-interest--played by that Zoey what's-her-name!--encourages the crowd to start singing Christmas carols, namely--again, what else!--Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. This renewed Christmas spirit gives Santa's sleigh the extra push it needs to getting said sleigh back up in the air so he can . . . well, you know! And, of course, everyone lives happily-ever-after! (Were you honestly expecting anything else?) A sidenote: My favorite scene in this flick was the "shower scene" when Buddy and his love-interest sing the old Dean Martin "Christmas" tune "Baby, It's Cold Inside"--which is basically about a guy who's trying to get laid on Christmas (and is probably my pick for all-time Christmas song for, I think, obvious reasons!)!--while she's taking a shower. Of course, she screams when she sees Buddy outside of the shower stall, but I digress. Also, I thought casting Ed Asner as "jolly" Saint Nick was a stroke of genius, as far as I was concerned (and, of course, probably helped to keep this flick from becoming too syrupy like so many other Christmas flicks!)!