I have a confession: I’m not a big fan of Will Ferrell. His overacting usually doesn’t do it for me, and his characters usually come off as being loud and dumb without much substance. That being said, his turn as Buddy the Elf in the 2003 Christmas film Elf is perhaps a career highlight for him. Not only is the character great, but Elf ranks …
I have a confession: I’m not a big fan of Will Ferrell. His overacting usually doesn’t do it for me, and his characters usually come off as being loud and dumb without much substance. That being said, his turn as Buddy the Elf in the 2003 Christmas film Elf is perhaps a career highlight for him. Not only is the character great, but Elf ranks as one of the few true Christmas classics from the last 25 years.
Elf was directed by Jon Favreau, now of The Mandalorian fame, and gives us a fairy tale world full of stop-motion snowflakes, cute critters, elves and, of course, Santa Claus. Or at least, that’s the initial setup. But the film decides to toss all of that out the window pretty early on and makes the story a fish-out-of-water story. We follow Buddy the Elf, a human who was raised by Santa’s elves. But no one ever got around to telling him that; he was just the really tall elf who wasn’t very good at making toys. Upon learning of his true identity, Buddy elects to make a trip to New York City to meet with his biological father, Walter (James Caan). Unfortunately for, well, everyone around him, Walter is on the naughty list for being pretty cold and unforgiving, even to his family. So it’s up to Buddy to not only reconnect with his long-lost father, who didn’t even know he was born, but also spread Christmas cheer and avoid getting locked up for being perceived as a loony walking about Manhattan as an elf.
But all is not lost. Mistaken for an employee at a department store thanks to his elf costume, Buddy meets Jovie (Zoey Deschanel) and builds up a romantic interest with her, despite not knowing any of the social cues or norms. Buddy’s complete lack of understanding of how things work in the real world offers some great comedic bits, and the childlike personality of Buddy, and by proxy, Will Ferrell, sells the bit. Buddy is kind of insufferable, but he offers no ill will, and his love for Christmas time is genuine. In a world that seems to have lost that Christmas spirit, having someone like Buddy come along and upend everyone’s lives with a bit of good may be a message we should all take to heart these days.
I think the best parts of Elf is just how funny it is. The film is so incredibly heartfelt and earnest, and it uses that to its advantage with its portrayal of Buddy. He’s a manchild, but has no idea he’s that. To him, everyone should be just in Christmas spirit 24/7, and he doesn’t understand concepts like “corporate” or dead-end jobs. This ends up being another one of Elf’s strengths. It’s got heart, and it has something to say too. Often, comedies, especially seasonal ones, get by on the laughs and hijinks with little concern or need for anything else. Christmas movies, in particular, suffer from this, as they coast by on familiar formulas and tropes, using the Christmas vibes to get by. Elf taps into more of the meaning of family, being a good person, and enjoying things in a world where things like work sap the life out of us, leaving us distracted and miserable, to say the least.
So if you’ve never seen Elf (and chances are there’s some of you out there), give it a go before the big 25 rolls around!
