Elf (2003)

When it comes to comedy movies, there is really only one single requirement-its heart needs to be in the right place. Elf’s heart is definitely in the right place, right next to its main character, Buddy, an orphaned human baby, who, when Santa Claus visits his New York orphanage, crawls into the giant bag where all the toys are kept. When Santa goes back to the North Pole, he and the elves realize that they have a baby they have to take care of. Fast-forward about thirty years. Buddy (Will Ferrell) is a full-grown human being, raised in a community of elves as one of their own. But when he finds out that he is actually a human, he goes to New York to find his biological father (James Caan), who quickly dismisses him as some silly performer, until he gets news that makes him take Buddy in. Meanwhile, Buddy makes friends with a woman portraying an elf at a lackluster shopping mall set named Jovie (the positively wonderful Zooey Deschanel), who Buddy quickly takes a liking to, due to the sheer fact that she is a true optimist at heart. The thing about Buddy is that he has no concept of what we deem proper and improper in our society. He puts syrup on spaghetti, and gives it to his father for breakfast (to quote the film-“We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup.”). He falls in love at sheer first sight, and has the nerve to go through with it. Buddy isn’t afraid of the things we’re afraid of. He just lives life the way he wants to live life. He holds this sense of sheer innocence that is brilliantly charming. Honestly, Will Ferrell’s performance in this film rivals only two others: his performances in the comedy-dramas Stranger than Fiction and Everything Must Go. These three performances are dramatic performances (and by that I mean it is completely earnest, true, and 100% believable), it just so happens that here it is in a comedy film. Will Ferrell is a brilliant actor, and if he stuck to only serious roles, he would be holding an Oscar by 2015. But, we mustn’t forget the amazing Zooey Deschanel, who is probably one of my favorite working actresses in American cinemas currently. She has this sense of joy and life that most actors lack now-a-days. The film is directed by Jon Faverau, who would later direct the mega-hit Iron Man. Faverau doesn’t really have a specific style of direction other than straightforward, honest filmmaking. And that is what we have here, and that is what we need. If there is anything we can completely learn from Elf, it’s that elves and humans have extremely differentiating lifestyles. But another thing we can learn from Elf is that one spark of joy in a forest of cynicism will set off a fire.
8.5/10