To even the most cynical, midterm-laden student, Will Ferrell’s new movie "Elf" is a vacation-on-demand from the cold, harsh reality of the Fall Quarter crunch.
Without giving away the whole story, "Elf" follows the travels of Buddy (Ferrell), a man raised by elves who ventures from the North Pole down to New York hoping to find his real father and spread some holiday cheer. Even though he’s a 30-year-old man, Buddy has the mindset of a fourth-grader — he claims the four major food groups are candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup. (I always thought it was beer, caffeine, pizza and porn.)
Corny and inoffensive, "Elf" fits the family film mold perfectly. But what makes "Elf" special is that it’s not a make-a-buck family film.
Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams sold out years ago and make totally unwatchable movies. See "Daddy Day Care" or "Patch Adams." Better yet: Don’t. There has to be a support group for people who actually paid to see these disasters.
Ferrell, however, seems genuinely happy playing an elf. Like his crazy antics on "Saturday Night Live," he acts like a big kid and he seems right at home playing one this time around — albeit in yellow tights and a pointy hat. For all the time we spend trying to look and act older (memorizing made-up addresses on a fake ID comes to mind), well-crafted little-kid humor has a strange appeal. There are certainly times for the gloomy irony of the Coen brothers, but there are also times for watching Ferrell wrestle a shopping mall Santa.
It’s no exaggeration to say Ferrell is the funniest person on the planet. His characters have become cult favorites among young adults — the showing I went to had at least twice as many Northwestern students as little kids. That said, don’t go into "Elf" expecting to see Frank the Tank crushing brews or Mugatu screeching orders like a musical theater professor.
Rather, "Elf" is a refreshing reminder of the days when keeping watch out our bedroom window for even the slightest sign of reindeer hooves was serious business.
And by no means do you have to be Christian to enjoy "Elf" or share its nostalgia. I saw it with a Jewish friend of mine who found it equally hilarious (the film’s writer is named David Berenbaum, for crying out loud). Indeed the Christmas season has become so secularized that everyone can enjoy it. At times this secularization equals commercialization, and the madness of buying gifts obscures the affection that compels us to buy them in the first place.
Buddy’s goofy and endearing innocence, however, shines through with a brand of authenticity often forgotten around the holidays — assuming, of course, you’re not too jaded to get past the whole idea of an elf-man walking to New York from the North Pole.
Right about this time of year, our bag of worries starts to really fill up — the unending march of midterms, the unforgiving chill of a looming winter. When you go see "Elf," leave your bag at the door. After the movie the bag is still there — but it feels a little lighter.
