Back at uni, so won't be around for a while, Emma x
Back at uni, so won't be around for a while, Emma x
Member since:02.04.2003
Reviews:82
Members who trust:64
God help me, I’m turning into a child again! I swear, you go to uni and it’s like being a toddler again: you wear mittens, you don’t look before crossing the road, you make snow angels in the snow… you get excited at the thought of watching a film about a man who thinks he’s an elf…
** ELF **
CAST: Will Ferrell (Zoolander, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery), James Caan (The Godfather, Mickey Blue Eyes), Zooey Deschanel (Almost Famous, The Good Girl) DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau (Swingers, Daredevil, Something’s Gotta Give (as an actor)) CERTIFICATE: PG RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes
www.elfmovie.com
** THE PLOT **
One Christmas a human baby is found in Santa’s sack after he’s made his Christmas Eve deliveries and the elves decide to keep him. Thirty years later, Buddy finds out that he’s not really an elf and sets off to New York to find his real dad.
His father is a money-grabbing executive who spends more time at work than with his family, so the last thing he wants is another son to not spend any time with. Can Buddy bring some Christmas spirit into the lives of the new people he meets and will his father accept him as a son? All I’ll say is, it’s Christmas…
** THE CHARACTERS **
Buddy
the Elf/Human (Will Ferrell) is a cross between an eleven-year-old boy stuck in a man’s body with someone with serious mental problems. Or so you would believe if you didn’t believe his story of being an elf. As the viewers, we know he’s been brought up by elves and so his behaviour is perfectly explainable. To be fair to Will Ferrell, he does actually play his part quite well – he does genuinely act as a man who thinks he’s an elf and so the cynical people of New York can be forgiven for thinking he’s an incredibly odd man.
His father Walter (James Caan) is grumpy, miserable, overworked and lacking in Christmas spirit. He neglects his family, but the filmmakers don’t take it so far that they might upset people with this idea. His negligence is more to do with working too much rather than not caring about his family. I don’t think the acting required for this character stretched Caan too much, and reading some of his film credits, I can’t see how it would. It certainly won’t get him another Oscar nomination.
There is a love interest in the form of Zooey Deschanel who plays Jovie. The official Elf movie website cites her as being a much sought after actress, but I thought she was terrible, Even in a kids’ movie, there’s no excuse for just looking bored throughout the whole film. From an adult’s point of view, I think Buddy falls for her just because she’s the first female he sees and not for any outstanding quality. She really wasn’t needed in the film.
The rest of the cast were ok, but nobody really stood out. Buddy’s little brother Nathaniel (Daniel Tay) didn’t even manage to convince me that he was an unhappy ten year old. He also seemed disinterested. The elves were quite cute and Poppa Elf had some good lines, e.g., “In New York, when you see chewing gum on the streets, don’t pick it up. It isn’t free candy.”
** SCENERY, MUSIC, ETC., **
There were some slightly dodgy bits of production that were used to depict the scenes in the North Pole. I think the filmmakers decided to just go for a blatantly obvious fake look rather than try and convince children that it’s all really real. So, we see Buddy floating on a piece of ice through a candy cane forest and past some little talking creatures (who knows what they were supposed to be?) that were clearly made out of plasticine. Shots of snowflakes falling down just looked like paper.
But for some reason, I liked it. I liked the fact they hadn’t bothered to try and disguise the fact that these things weren’t real, but emphasised them in a cute and kiddish way. There are several scenes where Buddy decorates a department store and his father’s apartment, but the decorations he uses are just paper and other things he finds lying around. No magical, unexplained power in sight and it is touchingly effective when you see what he has created with paper and scissors.
Apart from a few Christmas carols, there is no recognisable music, but that isn’t surprising. It’s Christmas all the way through so you’re unlikely to hear Avril Lavigne or something other pop puppet trumpeting about Christmas. Just the festive sound of happy crowds singing. How refreshing.
** MY OPINION (after all of that) **
Oh dear… I liked it… yes, that’s right, I did. And what’s more: so did my boyfriend. Yes, it’s cheesy. Yes, it’s childish. But it’s a good, old-fashioned tale and the only hint of any technology that seems to be in abundance in recent films is in the Claus O Meter on Santa’s sleigh. There’s no swearing, sex scenes or anything that seems to follow the current trend of dragging children into adulthood. It’s just a good, family film and as my dad has just commented, “Perfect for a Saturday afternoon.”
Children will enjoy it and I think your grandparents will too. I don’t think that every person will like it because it is completely aimed at children with the odd adult’s joke thrown in for good luck. But, you never know until you try it.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
I have to admit that i think i enjoyed this film slightly more than a boy of my age should have. Nevertheless, cool review and cheers for the tip on 4 non Blondes song :D
Chazzer3 29.02.2004 21:28
Great op, loads of detail, nice length, helpful - Chazzer3
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funny bits but is basically an insult to humanity;Elfis a smartly written, skillfully directed, and deftly acted story of a human being adopted by Christmas elves who...
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Elfis genuinely good. Not justSaturday Night Live-movie good, when the movie has some ... more
funny bits but is basically an insult to humanity;Elfis a smartly written, skillfully directed, and deftly acted story of a human being adopted by Christmas elves who...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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Once upon a Christmas Eve, an orphan baby crawled into Santa's bag of gifts and was taken ... more
to the North Pole. Raised by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), Buddy (Will Ferrell) comes to realise he doesn't fit in with the other elves. Determined to find a place wher...
![Elf [DVD] [2003]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78515951.jpg "Elf [DVD] [2003]")
Dec 19th, 2003
exceptional by (4%):
very helpful by (96%):
