Elf

My wife _LOVES_ Christmas and all of the Christmas movies, so we end up watching several of them over and over every December. I really like Bob Newhart, James Caan and Zooey Deschanel, but Will Ferrell was super annoying. Peter Dinklage makes a brief appearance as well and is splendid once again. I felt like strangling Buddy for most of the movie, though I did like his Christmas display he made. There are some decent quotes, and Deschanel has a nice singing voice, so there is at least something look forward to, but it's not something I would choose to watch myself.

Will Ferrell could have done a better job with this honestly. I can't believe how kids can fall under the illusion that Santa is real and all of the other lies parents would show to their kids. This movie is just a really boring, not funny waste of my life. Home Alone and Die Hard and Rudolf and we can throw the Grinch in their as real Christmas movies, but elf should not even be counted. I don't know how adults can even watch and survive the stupidity and dullness of a movie like this. Terrible

I don't even know where to start, but here's the truth: I am very disappointed with this movie; I don't like ELF. Here's why: Most of the comedy is empty and disposable alongside the rude immature humor, like burping out loud, most of the falling slapstick, and how is eating a large pile of unhealthy sugary garbage funny? Two scenes in particular, I cannot believe they have decided to put this in here, the scenes involving a raccoon and the "fake" Santa Clause. Buddy the elf was attacked by a raccoon during the day in Central Park; raccoons are nocturnal (active during the night and sleep during the day), and in Central Park they are more likely to run away than attack. But yes, raccoons can attack a human if they are cornered, trapped, threatened, or has rabies. Buddy says to the fake Santa that he is an imposter in front of a four-year old boy. Even worse, The fake Santa say's to buddy in front of the boy "How would you like to be dead." And finally, ripping off the fake beard to prove that it was an imposter in front of all of the children. Why!? Another one of the biggest issues with this movie is that even though this is classified as a family film (age appropriate for ages seven and up), it has no idea what it's audience is. Seventy percent of the movie is office/business work (something that a kid would not enjoy seeing), did I at least find it entertaining or funny? Not at all. Now as for kids entertainment, it is a struggle; Favreau thinks that kids will be thrilled or entertained by Buddy running across the street with angry drivers coming that will run him over. He's wrong because it's extremely dangerous or even deadly. What about bothering other people in public? Let's not forget that because it is unacceptable. Kids will eventual mimic everything that they saw in this film. It even tries to be charming and jolly, but there isn't enough high-energy to be engaging or fun. So for the family oriented entertainment value, it is highly uneven and muddled. But That's not all, they should've cut out the bad language and glass of wine too. For the cast of actors and actresses, I feel like Jon Favreau should either work with the actors a lot more or hiring a better actor for his or her role. The actors performances are a little underperformed with a little amount of energy. The only actor that has higher energy than the rest is Will Ferrell who played Buddy, but unfortunately, Will Ferrell is more likely trying to be jolly, comical, and energetic. Will is much better off in comedies that are rated PG-13 or rated R. They should've hired Jim Carry for the role, because he is a lot more energetic and he is hilarious. Now, there are some redeemable qualities here: As a character, Buddy is a relatively jolly, good-natured, and engaging protagonist (at least). The sprightly and whimsical score is by John Debney, I love the concept where people are trying to get the grumpy old Walter Hobbs into the Christmas spirit. Speaking of Christmas spirit, there are some great positive messages about Christmas spirit faith believing rather than seeing. Generosity, kindness, and earnestness can win over cynical humorless individuals. The scene where Buddy is in a snowball fight with a group of bullies is pretty entertaining. There are some funny moments, but these moments are not laugh-out-loud hilarious. But the best part of the whole movie is the compelling third act. Spreading Christmas spirit by singing "Santa Clause is coming to town" while Buddy and Santa tries to fix the sleigh and escape the rogue cops on horses. In conclusion: Why on earth would Jon Favreau make a jolly compelling Christmas comedy that tries to be jolly and entertaining with muddled flimsy family orientation within it's content and mediocre humor?