On paper, we'd all be forgiven for passing on Elf. Will Ferrell plays a human, accidentally raised as an elf in Santa's workshop after a delivery mishap in the orphanage. His world is turned upside down when he is finally given the heart-to-heart that not only is he adopted, but his birth father and family have been located in the mysterious far-away land of New York.
Buddy the elf has an incredible journey ahead, and much growing up to do, and it's easy to see the clear referencing of "Miracle on 34th St": updating the tale of a cynical world coping with the possibility that festive fantasy is real. Crucially, the film hinges on Ferrell's utterly devoted and un-satirical fish out of water performance, who will not - CAN not - see anything but positivity and joy in everything he experiences.
Birth Father, James Caan, thinks the entire story is a crock, and Step-mother Mary Steenburgen simply wants a family Christmas without tension. Director Jon Favreau's debut, best known for penning and starring in the '96 surprise hit "Swingers", and Ferrell's first feature after leaving Saturday Night Live, 'Elf' steers clear of schmaltz by showing us Buddy's pure heart break in slow motion, as he struggles to comprehend how something as magical and honest as Christmas has been tainted by his own race, and just because you have a family, it doesn't necessarily guarantee you'll fit in. Ferrell reportedly turned down a $30 Million offer to star in a sequel last year, hopefully well aware that the adventure of Buddy the Elf is perfect just the way it is.
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