Elf (2003)...Stuck Between Two Worlds
The movie "Elf" has a very good reputation amongst my generation, and I'm not going to say that this is a terrible movie and you should all be ashamed of yourselves... Not by any means. This might be my favorite Will Ferrell movie, and (more or less) has a good story. There are many things that I like about it... although I have one main problem with this movie. And we'll get into that shortly.
IMDb: After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity.
Here are things that I like about the movie "Elf"... and oddly, the first two are just big ol' "pop culture references", the type of thing I usually abhor (when it's done cheaply, and poorly. To see what I mean by that, watch any episode of The Family Guy or any modern episode of The Simpsons).
Like anything, a pop culture reference is relatively acceptable... if done well. (And with the full knowledge that it will likely appeal [and make sense] to only one generation. If you're trying to do comedy for the ages... don't fill it with pop culture references! References to Henry Aldrich doubtlessly had people rolling in the aisles in 1945... But if I got anything more than a blank expression from you with that particular pop-culture reference, I will be wholly shocked. Pop culture references do not make "for the ages" comedy.) So, look for parts of Elf to resonate slightly less with your children -- and slightly less again, with your grandchildren.
But anyway, I like (most of) the casting, the design, and the majority of the story.
1. The Casting: Bob Newhart.
His inclusion is what sold me on this movie in the first few seconds. I mean, who doesn't love Bob Newhart? Yes, his inclusion is a kind of cheap pop culture reference in itself, but I don't think this particular one is that bad -- it gets a pass, because Mr. Newhart's role works. The role doesn't exist for the reference -- the reference exists in spite of the role. Little kids of the generation following the next won't be like, "Who is that guy? Why is he so prominently featured?" ... anymore than they ask that question of the (meaningless to the current generation) narrator in Frosty the Snowman. (I'm just hazarding a guess that most little kids have no idea who Jimmy Durante is. Correct me if I'm wrong!)
2. The Design: The Depiction of the North Pole
I find this endlessly delightful because it's the Rankin-Bass North Pole. Again, it's a pop culture reference -- clearly, people who were raised on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) designed the North Pole in this film. But a lot of thought and careful design was put into this segment, and that's what makes it a good pop culture reference.
Top, Rudolph going away on an iceberg.
Bottom, Buddy the Elf going away on an iceberg.Not to mention that other parts of the design were lovely as well -- the parts that had nothing to do with Rankin Bass. The Christmas decorations that Buddy the Elf provides wherever he goes are part of what make this movie so visually appealing.
3. The Casting (II): Will Ferrell
In a recent Comedians in Cars, Getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld was interviewing Will Ferrell and pointed out that Will Ferrell's entire career is predicated on the fact that he looks differently from how he acts. And if you think about it... it's true! The problem is, it doesn't always work -- as in movies like Talladega Nights, or Kicking and Screaming -- the setting isn't quite the perfect counterpoint to his looks, and so it doesn't work as well. But in this film, it does work. He's a full-grown, fully masculinized man -- who acts like a childlike innocent, and it works because of that fact.
It also doesn't work in Semi-Pro... Basically, about 75% of
Will Ferrell movies, it doesn't work. Sorry, Buddy.4. The Casting (III): James Caan
Casting James Caan as the "Dad" in this movie was a really peculiar choice. In fact, so much so, that I almost included him on the list of the things that didn't work. They could have gone with somebody who just came across as "grumpy old Dad" (i.e. your average, garden variety Charles Grodin) but no, they went with a person who was less likely to be cast as "Grumpy Old Dad" than Christopher Walken; he comes across as violent, angry... borderline psychotic. James Caan's performance is just so weirdly jarring (several times he looks like he's totally ready to jam a pen into Buddy's eye and throw him down a flight of stairs)... that it works, in a very weird kind of way. I'm going to call this subversion of expectations purposeful and call it a "good" choice, because it does make the role much more memorable and interesting.
"I could rip that guy's throat out, no problem."
IMDb: After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity.
Here are things that I like about the movie "Elf"... and oddly, the first two are just big ol' "pop culture references", the type of thing I usually abhor (when it's done cheaply, and poorly. To see what I mean by that, watch any episode of The Family Guy or any modern episode of The Simpsons).
Like anything, a pop culture reference is relatively acceptable... if done well. (And with the full knowledge that it will likely appeal [and make sense] to only one generation. If you're trying to do comedy for the ages... don't fill it with pop culture references! References to Henry Aldrich doubtlessly had people rolling in the aisles in 1945... But if I got anything more than a blank expression from you with that particular pop-culture reference, I will be wholly shocked. Pop culture references do not make "for the ages" comedy.) So, look for parts of Elf to resonate slightly less with your children -- and slightly less again, with your grandchildren.
But anyway, I like (most of) the casting, the design, and the majority of the story.
1. The Casting: Bob Newhart.
His inclusion is what sold me on this movie in the first few seconds. I mean, who doesn't love Bob Newhart? Yes, his inclusion is a kind of cheap pop culture reference in itself, but I don't think this particular one is that bad -- it gets a pass, because Mr. Newhart's role works. The role doesn't exist for the reference -- the reference exists in spite of the role. Little kids of the generation following the next won't be like, "Who is that guy? Why is he so prominently featured?" ... anymore than they ask that question of the (meaningless to the current generation) narrator in Frosty the Snowman. (I'm just hazarding a guess that most little kids have no idea who Jimmy Durante is. Correct me if I'm wrong!)
2. The Design: The Depiction of the North Pole
I find this endlessly delightful because it's the Rankin-Bass North Pole. Again, it's a pop culture reference -- clearly, people who were raised on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) designed the North Pole in this film. But a lot of thought and careful design was put into this segment, and that's what makes it a good pop culture reference.
Top, Rudolph going away on an iceberg. Bottom, Buddy the Elf going away on an iceberg.Not to mention that other parts of the design were lovely as well -- the parts that had nothing to do with Rankin Bass. The Christmas decorations that Buddy the Elf provides wherever he goes are part of what make this movie so visually appealing.
3. The Casting (II): Will Ferrell
In a recent Comedians in Cars, Getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld was interviewing Will Ferrell and pointed out that Will Ferrell's entire career is predicated on the fact that he looks differently from how he acts. And if you think about it... it's true! The problem is, it doesn't always work -- as in movies like Talladega Nights, or Kicking and Screaming -- the setting isn't quite the perfect counterpoint to his looks, and so it doesn't work as well. But in this film, it does work. He's a full-grown, fully masculinized man -- who acts like a childlike innocent, and it works because of that fact.
It also doesn't work in Semi-Pro... Basically, about 75% of Will Ferrell movies, it doesn't work. Sorry, Buddy.4. The Casting (III): James Caan
Casting James Caan as the "Dad" in this movie was a really peculiar choice. In fact, so much so, that I almost included him on the list of the things that didn't work. They could have gone with somebody who just came across as "grumpy old Dad" (i.e. your average, garden variety Charles Grodin) but no, they went with a person who was less likely to be cast as "Grumpy Old Dad" than Christopher Walken; he comes across as violent, angry... borderline psychotic. James Caan's performance is just so weirdly jarring (several times he looks like he's totally ready to jam a pen into Buddy's eye and throw him down a flight of stairs)... that it works, in a very weird kind of way. I'm going to call this subversion of expectations purposeful and call it a "good" choice, because it does make the role much more memorable and interesting.
"I could rip that guy's throat out, no problem."
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