25 Days of Christmas: Elf
Elf (2003)
"You sit on a throne of lies!" - Buddy
People kept telling me I had watch this flick. They said that it was one of the best Christmas movies out there. They said it was equal to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. They said that even though I wasn't a big fan of Will Farrell I would like him in this movie.
Well... they were wrong.
While it isn't a terrible movie it's not as great as they said it was. It's watchable. I won't watch it again, I don't think.
First off, it's Will Farrell doing the same thing he does in every comedy he makes. It's him being stupid and not noticing that he's being stupid. That shtick got old with me a long time ago. If there is more than that to this guy it's being suppressed by the big money making machine of Hollywood that says that if something makes us money then we need to keep doing that same thing over and over again till it stops making us money. That's Will Farrell... even in this movie.
The story is ok but a little silly. Actually... what little story there is, beyond the crutch of Buddy not knowing a thing, is really weak. We get surface level characters that give us the slightest hint of a personality and then we're back to Will Farrell not knowing something else. I would have liked to see more of him in the department store and interacting with the people there. I would have liked to see more between Buddy and the girl he falls for. But we get first date and then they have a family in less than thirty minutes. Plus... isn't he a little old for her? I didn't see chemistry there at all.
He gets brought into the family very quickly and everyone but his father loves him within minutes. The change of heart for James Caan is rather fast as well. This whole movie felt pretty rushed to me and that's probably due to there not being much there in the first place.
Like I said... it's not terrible but it's no where near the top of the list when it comes to Christmas movies.
Jingle All the Way is far superior to me.
posted by Jason at
4:20 PM
3 Comments:
Sacrilege. Jingle All the Way is shite while this pays homage to all the great animated classics at the same time serving up a fresh batch of comedy. It's also a great way to celebrate having Christmas spirit. Will Ferrell did this before any of the later garbage where he wore out his Hollywood welcome. But this role, he brings out the joy and childlike innocence that we all can appreciate having at one point or another during this time of year. Elf is an instant classic.
I knew my Jingle All the Way comment would get a rise out of someone...
I did like the call back to the animated Christmas stuff but on a whole I thought the movie was pretty one note.
Plus I really enjoyed the end with the reveal of Santa. That was a pretty good scene.
I like Jingle, but Elf is much better for me. Bob Newhart as Papa Elf, Ed Asner as Santa, and James Caan are all good. I saw it in the theater with my sister and her husband. I hadn't heard buzz about it but ended up laughing a lot. Love how he just tells the boss at the store that yes, they do sing at the north pole, they sing all the time. The story works for me since it is a Christmas film where everything is supposed to turn out romantic and happy. My aunts do not appreciate the film so I do know other people who weren't as impressed. Not many though. Thanks for all your posts on the Christmas movies. You made it much further than I would have.
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