Elves Are Terrible Parents

 Oh, That Throne of Lies!

Elf (2003) – A human baby is adopted by Santa’s elves. When the time comes, they send Buddy back to find his human father in New York City.

Directed by Jon Favreau

Starring – Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner

Why I Liked It: A heartwarming ending saves a dopey beginning.

This is a “tale of two movies” review for me. There’s a kind of dumb movie, and there’s a wonderful, heartwarming Christmas movie here.

Here’s another Christmas movie that starts with the main character being treated poorly. Yes, I know Santa and the elves adopted Buddy (Ferrell) as a foundling and raised him as one of their own. There was still some bullying that goes on, especially as Buddy arrives at his full human height (Ferrell is 6’3”). My real issue with being mean to Buddy happens when the North Pole crew decides it’s time for him to find his real family. It appears that elves are the worst parents on the planet. Buddy has the mental and emotional maturity of a four-year-old. The elves around him seem to have properly matured, but Buddy is a child. Is this a developmental issue, psychological challenge? Whatever it is, Buddy barely functions in the elven community. What genius sends this person into the human world? No preparation, no escort, no help waiting at the other end. This is child abuse (and yes, I know Buddy is at least 30 years old physically. He’s a child mentally.) Thus, much of what happens to him next is less than charming to me. I feel bad for him. Santa and his minions have set Buddy up for colossal failure. Which is how he ends up in jail.

The first half of the movie is one over the top Will Ferrell gag after another. Which will be gold for the fans of that kind of comedy. I’m not a member of that club. I call it “idiot” or “moron” humor. Don’t get offended, that’s not describing the viewer. The point of the humor is laughing at how stupid the main character(s) are. There’s a long history of this kind of humor, much of which I enjoy. The modern interpretation is too far over the top for my tastes. YMMV. It made the first half of the movie tedious and took away from the potentially interesting relationships. Most especially between Buddy and Jovi (Deschanel). There’s a serious creepiness factor in their history that just gets swept to one side. Same goes for the pivotal change in Walter’s attitude (Buddy’s father, played by James Caan). There’s no development, it just, poof, happens.

Once Buddy connects with his half-brother, Michael (Daniel Tay), a very different movie begins. The emotional connection here both makes sense and feels “real”. “Elf” keeps enough of its silliness to be fun, while giving us something that’s more about the elusive “real spirit of Christmas”. I’ve watched this movie once before, some twenty years ago. The movie pleasantly surprised me, I remember. It was better than I’d expected. Flash forward two decades, and I’m watching the first half of the movie wondering what I’d been drinking all those years before. But the second half is so much better a movie, that I understand coming away with a positive feeling about it. It’s unfortunate that Mary Steenburgen gets so little screen time, and that James Caan gets a neck-snapping change of heart overall. I want to note one over-the-top story segment that I absolutely enjoyed. The entire “Call me elf one more time” section with Peter Dinklage was pure gold.

You can stream Elf – Hulu, Max, Philo, Amazon Prime, Apple+, Vudu, Google Play, YouTube

This one gets listed as a “classic” and “one of the best Christmas movies of all time”. I can’t buy into either of those assessments. There are too many lame moments, and unsupported character changes for me. On the other hand, there is more than enough here to make this a regular part of your Christmas viewing.

Rating – *** Worth A Look