We then see a happy, innocent Will Ferrell, dressed as an elf and walking through the streets of New York, scared and excited by the world around him. A large portion of Elf is made up of short, isolated scenes where Buddy is discovering what the real world is like. We see him struggling to get on an escalator in the mall, harmlessly getting hit by taxies and pouring maple syrup on everything he eats. The gags range from silly to extremely funny and are usually funniest when they are the most subtle. I can’t stop laughing as little things such as when Buddy, in his father’s office, answers the phone with, “this is Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?”

On the other hand, Elf is at its least funny when focusing on the narrative portion of the film. Buddy seeks the approval of his father, Walter (James Caan), a businessman who isn’t amused by the discovery of his long lost son and who is also on Santa’s naughty list. In the meantime, Buddy gains the affection of his new step-mother (Mary Steenburgen) and half-brother Michael (Daniel Tay). Not until the end does Walter undergo a change of heart, and unfortunately, it’s another sudden, cliché change of heart that comes with little build up – sort of like some of the poorer adaptations of A Christmas Carol.

Buddy also likes to hang out at the mall because of its Christmas decorations and there falls in love with Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), who works in the ‘meet Santa Claus’ department and so is dressed up as an elf. She returns his attention for some strange reason, but it’s overlookable in the midst of the silliness of the situation in the first place.

The whole last 20 minutes of the film, which consist of unoriginal Christmas conventions, are unnecessary and detract from the tone of the rest of the film – but at least we have the rest of the film. And it’s worth having. In the midst of a weak story, this character takes over and makes you laugh harder than you’ve possibly laughed in awhile. That’s the best Christmas gift I know.

Year: