The Twelve Reviews of Christmas...Day Eleven: "Elf"

You sit on a throne of lies!

The Story:

Buddy (Will Ferrell) crawled into Santa's (Edward Asner) bag during a visit to an orphanage.  Raised in the North Pole by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), Buddy has never realized that he's not an Elf...he's human!  In fact, he's the son of Walter (James Caan), who works at a publishing company in New York, and unfortunately has landed on Santa's naughty list.  Buddy sets off to New York to meet his dad, and along the way finds a girl, Jovie (Zooey Deschanel) and becomes smitten.  Then, on Christmas Eve... all of these storylines come to a head as Christmas is about  to be cancelled forever due to the lack of Christmas Spirit.  Can one lone Elf save the day?

Count on it!

It's been 10 years since Elf arrived in theaters.

In that decade, the movie has become a classic.

Or if not a classic, a staple of the holiday season.

There is "The Holy Trinity" of funny Christmas movies.  Scrooged. Christmas Vacation. Elf.

We can discuss and debate which is the best of those movies all season long.

At this house, the holidays don't officially begin until at least one of those movies has played.

Normally, that happens sometime between the first of November and Thanksgiving.

: )

This movie wears its heart on its sleeve, happily.  You cannot watch this movie and not smile.

Yes, even those out there that hate Will Ferrell, watch this movie and not be impressed with the childlike wonder he brings to the role of Buddy.

Surrounded by a great cast, this is Ferrell's best performance, hands down.

Directed by Jon Favreau, he proves equally adept at comedy as he does with action (Iron Man).

It doesn't get much sweeter, or funnier, than this.

Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Infinitely.  Love this film.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 11 ~ Elf

Okay, this wraps up the Christmas movie trilogy, and caps off the first 90 movies.  Tomorrow begins the Top 10!!

But we're going out with a bang, as this has become an instant classic since it came out in 2003.

Elf.

The story of an orphan who gets inadvertently picked up by Santa and taken back to the North Pole.  There he is raised by an elf and grows up thinking he is one...just a really big one.  Naturally, the truth comes out, and then Buddy finds out that his real father is on...

The Naughty List.

I know, that's terrible!

So he embarks on a trip to New York City to try and get his dad off the list, and maybe, just maybe, provide a Christmas miracle or two.

Directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man!), this movie just hits the ground running and never stops.  It's funny, sweet, sentimental and touching, all rolled up into one perfectly paced movie.

Will Ferrell plays Buddy the Elf to perfection.  His enthusiasm and gusto for all things Christmas is infectious, as he truly looks at the world with the eyes of a child...trapped in a 6' man frame. :)

James Caan is the naughty father, who has been taking shortcuts at work, and just becoming a bit of a grump.  He's not bad, per se, just very beleaguered.  Then to find out he has a 30 year old elf for a son...that sorta pushes him over the edge.

Zooey Deschanel plays Jovie, the object of Buddy's affection.  She even gets to belt out a tune or two along the way.

Bob Newhart also is great in his role as Buddy's adopted father/narrator.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Ed Asner as Santa.  Not the first name you would think of to play St. Nick, but he pulls it off remarkably well.  His is a bit of a jaded Santa, who has watched with weariness as the world has begun to quit believing in him.  This suits Asner's built in gruffness to perfection.

This or Christmas Vacation  is usually the movie that kicks off the holiday movie viewing frenzy that runs from Thanksgiving until Christmas.  Elf usually gets several spins in the DVD player... it just never gets old.