Elf
Will Ferrell, in whatever role he's in, produces memorable characters with hilarious results. From the near death burn victim in Austin Powers, to a divorcee in Old School, and finally his portrayal as President George W. Bush on SNL, Ferrell has a way of doing anything for a laugh. In Elf, he plays Buddy the Elf. As a baby at the adoption agency, he sneaks into Santa's bag on Christmas and grows up on the North Pole. Years later, fully grown and obviously not an elf, he goes to New York to find his real father, who turns out to be an editor who looks amazingly like James Caan and goes by the name of Walter. With a family of his own, Walter isn't too receptive of meeting his son from a former relationship but he tries to make the best of it as the pressures of work become so great, he's in danger of getting fired. Buddy, in the meantime, has difficulty adjusting to city-life. After all, he's grown up as an elf. People celebrate Christmas for a short time every year while for Buddy, it's his entire life. He soon stumbles upon a partially decorated Santa's workshop with a fake Santa he loudly calls out. It's here that he's charmed by a "worker elf" in Jovie (Zooey Deschanel). Soon, it's Christmas Eve and Santa's having problems with his sleigh and only Buddy can help him out.

Without Ferrell, this story of elves and humans wouldn't be any good. It's the energy Ferrell brings to the role, with his big smile everywhere, that keeps us in a good mood throughout most of the movie. It isn't until its hurried and somewhat inexplicable ending that even Ferrell himself can't save. His fight with his elf counterpart is good for a cheap laugh, but nothing more. Santa's sleigh breaking down in Central Park with the Central Park police chasing him on horseback was just weird. Caan is supposed to be in the Christmas spirit by the end, but it doesn't seem like he changed a bit by the end. And ultimately, the North Pole is supposed to be a mythical place where we believe Santa and his elves are anxiously building toys for the next Christmas. But it seems Buddy comes and goes as he pleases. After all, he walks from the North Pole to New York! What's to stop someone to follow him and ruin Christmas for everyone? At least "The Santa Clause" had security measures. On the strength of Ferrell's performance in the first half along with playing along with what goes on in the second, gets this movie a borderline thumbs-up. 2.5 stars