Elf

Returning to our countdown...

8 - Elf

Have I already mentioned that everything Will Ferrell touches turns to gold?  Can I brigng that up enough?  He's proved this year that he can switch it up and play the dramatic role if he wants to.  Nevertheless, comedy is his strongest point and he proved it once again with a new Christmas classic in "Elf".

It's the story of a regular baby boy that stowed away in Santa's sack and ends up at the North Pole.  Being the caring souls they are, Santa and the elves decide to raise Buddy as one of their own.  Naturally, he never seems to fit there because of his size and he sets off to find his real father.

  "Elf" is a pretty familiar story that always surfaces this time of year.  There's a crotchety man who's a bit of a Scrooge (played here brilliantly by James Caan) that can never seem to get into the Christmas spirit.  It takes some external element for him to see the light and here, that light is Ferrell's Buddy.

There are several scenes in here that are absolutely hilarious.  Buddy confronting a department store Santa and exposing him as a fake Santa comes to mind.  One of my personal favorites is when Buddy, having no sense of political awareness, meets a little person and mistakes him as an elf.

Jon Favreau is quietly making a name for himself behind the camera.  He directed "Elf" and is beginning to demonstrate that he's a more than capable filmmaker.  The ending was a bit much but thankfully, not near enough to derail this already terrific film.