TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 2: “ELF”

EACH DAY UNTIL CHRISTMAS, WE’LL PROFILE A  TITLE WORTHY OF YOUR HOLIDAY VIEWING PLEASURE.

ELF (PG)

Article by Adam Mast

There are very few current holiday releases that are whole heartedly worth recommending during the yule tide season and for my money, the Will Ferrell-fronted ELF is one of them.

With the exception of ANCHORMAN (which is, arguably, Ferrell’s best movie), never has the ex-SNL player’s man-child schtick been more effective then it is in Jon Favreau’s wonderful fish-out-of-water holiday romp, ELF. As Buddy the elf, Ferrell is goofy, endearing, and positively adorable in equal measure.

The set-up is simple; Raised by elves in the North Pole, Buddy is functioning under the delusion that he too, is an elf until Santa clues him in on the truth; He’s actually a human! His birth father (played by the great James Caan) is a children’s book publisher in New York, and as fate would have it, dad also happens to be on the naughty list. So, Buddy leaves the friendly confines of his chilly surroundings and heads out for the Big Apple where he hopes to reconnect with the father he never knew he had.

Director Jon Favreau manages to capture the warm and fuzzies in spades and he even finds time to pay homage to all those great Rankin and Bass holiday specials. What’s more, he has the good sense to allow Ferrell to do his thing and stay of his way.

What a joy ELF is. From the dry-witted Papa Elf (played by Bob Newhart), to the wonderfully warm duet between Buddy and Zooey Deschanel’s lovable Jovie, to Peter Dinklage’s angry elf, to Ed Asner’s most unique take on Santa Claus. This splendid holiday film simply has it all.  It’s overflowing with cotton balls, syrup, beef and cheese, the World’s Greatest Cup of Coffee, and of course, Christmas spirit!

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Day 1- KRAMPUS – CLICK HERE