Reviews Film / Elf

A Bizarre, Yet Memorable Christmas Classic.

When most people think of a typical Christmas movie, they tend to think of a bright, cheerful, family movie with cheesy morals. In that sense, Elf is a typical Christmas movie...with the added twist of Will Ferrel in an elf suit.

As you can probably tell, most of the comedy in this movie comes from Will Ferrel as Buddy, a human raised by elves who tries and fails to interact with ordinary people. It's a concept that sounds completely stupid, but somehow, it works. A lot of Buddy's scenes are downright hilarious and by far the best parts of the movie. Trying to hug a raccoon, getting in a fight with a fake Santa, throwing a dance party in the mail room, getting in another fight with a midget he mistakes for an elf, all gold. But despite all that, Buddy is a surprisingly deep character, with serious self-esteem issues and a genuine desire to get close to his father. I would even go as far as to say that this is one of Will Ferrel's best roles. Yes, a confused elf-man. Seriously.

It's definitely not for everybody and I'll admit that I'm a bit biased as this was my first childhood Christmas movie and my family has a tradition of watching it every year, but if I can see this movie more than ten times (not an exaggeration) and still enjoy it, that speaks marvels for me. Check it out if you want something different from a Christmas movie.