Elf
(2003) dir. Jon Favreau
viewed: 12/10/06
I hate Will Ferrell. I mean, the guy just tries too hard. And I don’t like the kind of movies that he usually makes. He seems like a nice enough person and all, but someone should stop him.
That said, for some reason, I had harbored this thought that Elf might actually be pretty funny. Jon Favreau has skirted the possibility of being a decent director and actor, pretty funny, kind of gritty. He first hit the scene in writing and starring in Swingers (1996) and moved into writing/directing with Made (2001). Both have their charms and both also feature him as a prominent character. But Elf and his latest film, Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), he’s clearly eking out a space in the mainstream kiddie-movie set. Here, he channels Tom Hanks/Penny Marshall’s Big (1988), striving for that magical screen moment over and over again, hitting on crooner favorites and humping X-mas cheer like it was godhead.
And it almost works.
Ferrell is less annoying in this film. He does look silly in his outfit. I love Bob Newhart who plays his Papa.
But this movie strives for “magic”. And it’s painful. The attempts at emotional manipulation are so overt that it’s downright pathetic. But it’s alright.
I wanted to watch a Christmas movie with my son. I actually wanted to watch A Christmas Story (1983), the small film that has become the genuine of magic, meaning that it’s truly a cultural icon, played ad nauseum at the holidays, but is still funny as hell even though everybody has seen it a million times. I don’t know how you go about creating “magic” moments. I think if you try too hard, though, it’s always going to come out wrong.
I still do not like Will Farrell.
