Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) tries to find his way in New York City in holiday comedy
ELF (Jon Favreau, 2003)
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
143 East Houston St. between First & Second Aves.
Friday, December 23, and Saturday, December 24, 12 midnight
212-330-8182
www.landmarktheatres.com
www.elfmovie.com
Will Ferrell is a hoot in this somewhat overrated Christmas movie that starts out with such promise before descending into sappy melodrama and seasonal cliché hell. Ferrell stars as Buddy the elf, a human orphan who crawls inside Santa’s bag one Xmas Eve and grows up to become an unusually big worker in the North Pole. When he finally realizes he’s different from everyone around him, he sets out to New York City to find his birth father, who turns out to be a tough, ruthless publisher (James Caan) who neglects his family. It’s hard not to laugh nearly every time you see the gleam in Ferrell’s eye, the curls in his hair, or the hysterical outfit he’s wearing as he makes his way through Gimbels (Macy’s), the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink, the Empire State Building, Central Park, and other local landmarks. Teaming Ed (Lou Grant) Asner and Bob (Bob Hartley) Newhart, who used to be on CBS back to back on Saturday nights, is a nice touch. And the scene with Peter Dinklage as a mega-successful but rather diminutive children’s book writer is awesome, even if the movie has no idea how kids’ books are really made. It’s too bad this sharp-edged comedy had to turn all warm and fuzzy in the end, but it might not matter quite so much at these midnight holiday screenings.