When we speak of modern Christmas classics, it’s safe to say that Elf is the first film many of us think of.
If you looked at the concept of the film before you knew it was Will Ferrell who starred in it, you will realize that this thing had train wreck written all over it. If the producers had cast the wrong lead actor, we would have ended up with a movie that would have been nothing short of grating and annoying. Think, for example, if Chris Kattan was cast as Buddy the Elf instead of Ferrell. No one would have made it further than five minutes into the movie. But what Ferrell did with the character was magic. He did not play Buddy the Elf. He BECAME Buddy the Elf. In doing so, he transcended all cinema, etching himself forever into the bark of the great Christmas tree that is our subconscious.
Sorry, got a bit too lofty there.
But seriously, Elf is f*cking hilarious and the casting is perfection. I mean, come on, Bob Newhart as an Elf? That wins, everything. Ever. You add to that the childlike innocence that Ferrell SOMEHOW imbues into Buddy and it is just one of those movies that every person, young and old, seems to appreciate. Plus, lines from this movie are endlessly quoted by almost everyone around the holidays. So much so, in fact, that the next next person who yells “I KNOW HIM” when someone says Santa around me is getting punched in the voice box.
That aside, I still love the movie, and so does most of the world