Movie Review: Elf (2003) seen in theatres, on DVD and on multiple streaming services including cable tv

Comedy; some scenes may be unsuitable for young children, mature themes, mild medical themes, scenes that discuss adoption and emancipation from parents, some nudity and mild alcohol use, scenes which depict a domestic dispute

Will Ferrell stars in this holiday comedy which sees him declare war on his self esteem and award everybody around him a helping of embarrassment for Christmas as he grows up as an elf at the north pole and travels to New York to find his father and make his own way in the world with mixed results to say the least. His hard working father, Walter is very unimpressed by his efforts in doing so as he tries to maintain a decent life upon learning that an elf is his son.

The first thing I want to say in regards to this film is that even though it’s a Christmas movie, I first saw this movie on New Year’s day 2004. At this time, I did not have any good idea of any actors I liked. This movie is what made me respect Will Ferrell and I have seen this movie many times since then. There are actually a few characters in this movie I admire other than Will Ferrell and one of them is Walter. While I initially didn’t like the way he treated Will Ferrell in this film, I have grown up to adopt the same mindset as he had in this film. He is shown to have the mindset of someone who is too busy and impatient for anything not revolving around work. Multiple times throughout this film, he is shown to be stressed over work related matters and Will Ferrell’s presence in his life only really seemed to add to the stress especially since he could not believe that an elf was his son. I have to be honest in saying that the relationship between him and Walter throughout this film bears some similarities to the current one I have with my mother, though this is dialed down significantly as there are just as many aspects of our relationship that Will Ferrell and Walter don’t share, In the film, Walter is constantly annoyed and embarrassed by his presence and towards the end of the film even acknowledges that he would like to be left alone. In my case with mom, she is constantly annoyed by the number of times I call her in one day, though I do not go to the lengths that he goes in the film to be with Walter, (showing up at his office, following him around town,) ETC. However as it pertains to the annoyance factor, this is what we share in common with them.

I also liked Jovie as a character in this film. One of my favourite scenes in the movie is the shower scene where Will Ferrell unknowingly walks in on her. The current version of me would lead others to believe they know why I loved this scene so much. However, on a personal level, she looks like one of my teachers in school and quite honestly, I thought she was the one in the movie playing the character.

As good as this movie was, I honestly could take it or leave it. The main reason I did like it was because of Will Ferrell but I really didn’t like it and I don’t even know why. It’s just never been one of my favourite Christmas movies despite being really good. This will have a bit of a negative effect on the rating of this movie but overall, I would say it is a pass. There may be just as many people who love this movie but in my case, it doesn’t really pass for the greatest movie of all time. However, it made me a fan of Will Ferrell which I suppose ends this review on a high note.

Movie rating: 6 out of 10

Next movie review: TBD