Elf

ELF (PG)

D: Jon Favreau

Warner Bros./New Line (Jon Berg, Todd Komarnicki & Shauna Robertson)

USA/Germany 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 2003

110 mins

Comedy/Fantasy

W: David Berenbaum

DP: Greg Gardiner

Ed: Dan Lebental

Mus: John Debney

Will Ferrell (Buddy), James Caan (Walter Hobbs), Mary Steenburgen (Emily Hobbs), Zooey Deschanel (Jovie), Daniel Tay (Michael Hobbs), Ed Asner (Santa Claus), Bob Newhart (Papa Elf), Peter Dinklage (Miles Finch)

A Christmas family film perfectly tailored for Will Ferrell's comedy style. As Buddy the Elf, Ferrell is equally irritating and gleefully over the top as a man, adopted by Santa & his elves as a child, who journeys to New York City to find his real father, a belligerent and joyless businessman.

The formula follows very much a fish-out-of-water comedy seen countless times before and since, but Will Ferrell's sheer exaggeration make it eminently watchable, especially in the scenes with a cute Zooey Deschanel as the love interest. Almost guaranteed to provide some Christmas cheer.

6/10