[Online] Review: Laughter can’t cure what ails “˜Elf’

“Elf,” despite several funny scenes, is short of a
decent plot. When the laughs die down, the film becomes harder to
watch than a Jared Subway commercial.

When Buddy (Will Ferrell), a six-foot tall guy who thinks
he’s an elf, walks into New York City, the potential for
jokes are endless. And on that level, “Elf” does not
disappoint. The movie is laugh-out-loud funny.

As a movie made for kids, the humor is mostly of the
slapstick/potty variety. For example, Buddy receives a beating from
a Santa impersonator and later gets pounded by a dwarf. Although
disgusting — Ferrell manages to outdo himself in eating a variety
of stomach-turning objects, half of which aren’t edible
““ “Elf” proves that Ferrell can be funny without
being vulgar. He wins the audience with the charming
naïveté that has marked his career.

Some points in the movie make you want to reach out and hug
Ferrell. He plays the character so well that no one ever doubts
that he truly believes he’s an elf. His whiny voice and
physical antics easily elicit smiles.

Unfortunately, the humor can’t carry the lack of a sound
plot. In one scene, Buddy’s biological father, Walter (James
Caan), is a heartless Grinch. Two scenes later, without adequate
reason, he’s a top-notch good guy. Writer David Berenbaum can
write comedy, but he lacks an appreciation for the cause-and-effect
relationship between events that drives successful movies.

With a broken plot comes the painfully trite and terribly
contrived holiday theme: Everyone needs more Christmas spirit, and
everyone needs to believe in Santa.

“Christmas spirit” are code words in Hollywood for
easy money. The theme is so blatantly forced it feels like Santa
himself swooped down and thwacked everyone over the head with an
oversized candy cane wrapped with barbed wire. It’s a
feel-good message that feels bad.

The billboards and the trailers raise the question: How long
will it be funny to watch Ferrell prance around in an elf costume?
Not long enough.

In the end, you have to wonder where your nine bucks went. It
went to pay for a multi-million dollar movie that couldn’t
afford a decent plot.

– Christopher Saroki