By Kyle Monson
Put the pumpkins away, children, it''s time for Christmas. And what Christmas would be complete without a silly comedy about hope and faith in New York City?
Will Ferrell provides this year''s yuletide yuck-yucks in Jon Favreau''s 'Elf.' The story is kind of a Christmas 'Crocodile Dundee' in which an orphan named Buddy, raised by Santa''s elves, journeys to New York and looks like a weirdo in the big city.
Now we all know the plague of Saturday Night Live comedians: they leave the show thinking they''re funny enough to carry a movie single-handedly, and the resulting 'comedy' either bombs or deserves to bomb (see Rob Schneider, Tim Meadows, Dana Carvey, Norm MacDonald and David Spade, to name a few).
By contrast, 'Elf' gets great laughs and audience applause for one reason: It appeals to everyone. Director Favreau, the tough guy behind 'Swingers' and 'Made,' is savvy enough to avoid the bombardment of poop and sex jokes that make up other post-SNL movies, and cut out the vulgarity that he was so generous with in his earlier films. The result is a syrupy Christmas story with just enough bite.
The other element that makes 'Elf' stand out is Ferrell himself. His over-the-top natural elfishness is a hilarious contrast to the deadpan comedy of the rest of the cast: Funny-man Favreau, who''s never cracked a smile on film, takes a short cameo, Ed Asner plays a crusty Santa, James Caan plays the jaded New York businessman, and heck, deadpan master Bob Newhart plays an elf in yellow tights.
Ferrell is right at home with his fellow comedians. He takes naturally to his tights and pointy hat, and obviously has a lot of fun with the part. You can''t help but like his character, Buddy. He smiles incessantly and is hopelessly nice to everyone, but can also turn into snowball Rambo, laying waste to the neighborhood bullies.
So, alright, like all Christmas movies, the film''s predictable. Santa will make believers out of cynics and everything will turn out all sugar plums and gum drops. But you knew all that going into it, right? The important thing about Christmas comedy isn''t the ending, but how we get there and the laughs along the way. This film has some great jokes, the biggest of which is Ferrell himself - and I mean that in a good way.