Are you looking for a great movie to take the whole family to? Perhaps you’re looking for a date movie that isn’t too cheesy or romantic. Maybe you just want to laugh. Would you like faith restored in the human race? Then Elf is definitely the movie for you.
Believe it or not, Elf is a movie for absolutely everyone: men, women, boys, girls, anyone ages 4 – 104. It’s a romantic comedy that is without foul language, sex, and violence, yet still leaves audiences more than satisfied.
The Plot
Santa Claus (Ed Asner) makes his yearly rounds circa 1973. While leaving gifts at an orphanage, the sole infant in the orphanage crawls out of his crib and into Santa’s sack. Upon Santa’s return to the North Pole, the little stowaway crawls out of the sack and into Santa’s Workshop, in front of all of the elves. Thanks to the diaper that the baby boy wore, Little Buddy Diapers, the elves believed that his name is Buddy (a la Marty McFly being called Calvin Klein in Back to the Future). Buddy obviously needs a parental figure, so Papa Elf (Bob Newheart) volunteers to be Buddy’s adoptive father.
Buddy grows up believing that he is an elf. While he is 30, Buddy overhears two workshop elves talking about how buddy really is a human. Buddy talks to Papa Elf about this, who, in turn, tells Buddy the truth of his origins. Papa Elf tells Buddy who about his mother, who passed away, and his father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan), who is a publishing executive in New York City. Oh, to add a wrench to the works, Buddy’s biological dad is on Santa’s Naughty List.
Buddy heads to New York to bond with his real father. Unfortunately for Buddy, Walter isn’t quite so ready to bond with the long-lost son he knew nothing about. Thanks to Walter’s wife Emily (Mary Steenburgen) and son Michael (Daniel Tay), Buddy finds that bond with Walter. As a nice side benefit, buddy falls in love with an elf from Gimball’s, named Jovie (Zooey Deschanel).
When Santa gets into trouble during his rounds a couple weeks later, Jovie, Buddy and his family save the day.
The Actors
This is one of the best cast movies I have seen in a very long time. Will Ferrell is fantastic as Buddy the Elf. As a matter of fact, there is no other actor – not even Mike Myers – that would be able to pull off this role as well as Ferrell does. His childlike manner captures the persona of Buddy the Elf perfectly.
On the other end of the spectrum, James Caan is wonderful as the rotten Walter Hobbs. Caan captures the blatant disregard for humanity and all-around "Bah Humbug" sentiment towards the holidays. Cann also balances his reluctant love for his family, including his eldest son, with the same finesse he handles his nastiness and skepticism.
Bob Newhart definitely deserves a mention, as he is FABULOUS as Papa Elf. He is such a terrific contrast to Will Ferrell’s Buddy. Newhart really nails the loving father and chief elf role in one fell swoop. I just wonder what he did to prepare…
Mary Steenburgen shines as the lovely and joyful Emily. Her softness is an excellent balance to Caan’s hard edge. Daniel Tay is terrific as Walter’s neglected son starving for his father’s attention. Ed Asner is great as Santa Claus—you can’t even tell it’s him! Finally, of the main characters, Zooey Deschanel is good as Jovie, but I think it could have been cast better. A better choice may have been Kerry Washington (Bad Company, Against the Ropes). Washington would have been a better contrast to Ferrell and a bit more dynamic than Deschanel while maintaining the cute, elf-like qualities that Deschanel possesses.
Regarding the supporting cast, director Jon Favreau plays the doctor. It’s a small part, but I love when the director puts himself (or herself, as the case may be) into his (or her) film. Audiences can also find Andy Richter as Morris, one of Walter’s star writers, and funnyman Faizon Love as the Gimbel’s Manager.
The best performance, however, comes from the small powerhouse Peter Dinklage as famous children’s author Miles Finch. The scene between Dinklage and Ferrell is absolutely priceless. The entire audience was in hysterics as Miles Finch attacks Buddy for calling him an elf. Dinklage is terrific, and will hopefully appear in more and more films.
The Script
Writer David Berenbaum writes a flawless script with Elf. The dialogue is natural, even when it comes to the elves speaking amongst each other in Santa’s Workshop. Berenbaum nails Buddy’s childlike nature amidst cynical New York adults. The date between Jovie and Buddy is written expertly, and captures the different things that might appeal to a child that has never been to New York before.
Elf is truly one of the funniest movies – if not THE funniest – of 2003. The situations, the dialogue, the settings… Berenbaum offers audiences a well-rounded script on which a wonderful film is built.
Miscellaneous
The sets are really great. From Santa’s Workshop to everywhere Buddy’s adventures take him, the audience feels as though they are right there with him. Nothing looks fake, including Santa’s Workshop.
At one point, Buddy has a conversation with some of our favorite characters from the Christmas specials we all grew up with: Leon the Snowman, Mr. Norwahl, the Polar Bear Cub, the penguin… It really makes you believe that the characters truly exist. The superimposition of the characters onto the film is flawless.
The soundtrack is the best soundtrack from a Christmas movie in a very long time. The best song is a remake of "Baby It’s Cold Outside," sung by Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone (the voice of Leon the Snowman). You can also find a cheerful rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," as sung by the entire cast of Elf. Even if you don’t see the film, this is a great soundtrack to own for the holidays.
Elf is a heartwarming film that will make you believe in Santa Claus once again. It’s a great movie for all ages and all occasions. If you haven’t seen it yet, do your best to find a theatre where it is still playing. You’ll want to see it more than once—heck, I did!
One Christmas Eve long ago, a small orphan baby crawled into Santa s bag of gifts and was carried off to the North Pole. Named Buddy (Will Ferrell) an...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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