Educating Louisa – Part Four: Elf
When the Fellows and Associates team hired Louisa, it was on the basis that she was an intelligent, cultured and interesting individual – qualities that she exuded during her interview. Unfortunately, what they didn’t know is that Louisa’s ‘films viewed’ portfolio was disappointingly unrefined. Pete Fellows has therefore taken on the role of teacher of all things cinema, and will assign a different ‘must see’ film each month for Louisa to watch and review, for both her own education and your reading pleasure.
Elf – Sugar high: “Sugar highs cause twitchiness, spasms, and hyper excitability. Sugar highs do not last very long and leave a person feeling drained afterwards.” (Urban Dictionary)
As far as Elf is concerned, the former couldn’t be more apt, and the latter less accurate. Buddy, a hyperactive 30 something year old elf, played both whimsically and worryingly naturally by Will Ferrell, will take you on a fantastical journey that will leave you high on festive cheer. The film satisfies every classic requirement. There is moral journey, a soppy love story, a Scrooge-esque character (Buddy’s father Walter, portrayed “good – and I mean very good” by James Caan), and of course, an obligatory happy ending. Although the colourful imagery, slap-stick comedy, and animated characters will be a certain hit with the young target audience, the quirky and self-depreciating humour provided by Ferrell will satisfy the big kids amongst us. Director John Favreau, and writer David Berenbaum, have created a truly distinct, hilariously witty modern family classic. That, in itself, is a Christmas miracle.
Sound a bit too sickly? Not to worry; it isn’t all snowflakes and candyfloss. The opening scene takes us back to Buddy’s troubled childhood. We learn that he is human (shock-horror), was orphaned as a baby, and was adopted by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) after sneaking into Santa’s sack. Of course, this explains why Buddy is five times larger than his fellow elves. Nevertheless, he spent his childhood blissfully unaware, even though he is 6’3” and has had a beard since he was 15. After learning of his background, a distraught Buddy sets out on a journey to NYC to find his father, who, wait for it…is on the naughty list!
Along the way, Buddy passes through “the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest”, and “the sea of swirly twirly gum drops”. The animation is enchanting, with twinkling snowflakes and snow-capped pines; it leaves you feeling cosy and content, like after a warm cup of cocoa, or a hot toddy if you’d prefer. When Buddy reaches an atmospheric NYC, his naivety becomes amusingly apparent. He attempts to hug a hostile racoon, plays hop-scotch on a pedestrian crossing, and helps himself to the “free” gum stuck to railings. Not surprisingly, his antics land him behind bars.
After his father posts Buddy’s bail, their strained relationship gradually repairs itself. Just for a second, an exchange between Walter, and a doctor examining Buddy, may leave you questioning whether or not Buddy really is an elf, or a delusional middle aged man with parental abandonment issues and a penchant for luminescent tights. Scepticism is a theme explored throughout the film, and forms the basis of the delightfully cheesy finale. As a result of dwindling Christmas spirit, Santa’s sleigh runs out of steam. But the power of song saves the day, when Buddy’s love interest Jovie (played angelically by Zooey Deschanel), encourages a gathering crowd to spread Christmas cheer “by singing loud for all to hear”.
Cliché? Sure it is, but isn’t that what we want? If this film can teach us anything, it is to reject cynicism and embrace the magic of Christmas, if only for 97 minutes. Buy some yellow nylon tights, sport a silly hat, and eat so much “candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup” (an elf’s main food groups if you didn’t know) as you want; it’s Christmas, what’s the worst that can happen?* Some critics have grumbled that Elf is excessively silly, over-acted, and overtly cheesy. It is a children’s film, and it is Christmas after all, so to them I say – “Bah! Humbug!”.
*WARNING: Sectioning, funny looks, and diabetes are all possibilities. The author does not accept any liability.
Louisa never quite got round to watching ‘When Harry Met Sally’, since she has been too busy celebrating Christmas since early November. She promises to watch it in January; it’s her New Year’s resolution.