The Advent Calendar of Great Holiday Movies: Day 6 "Elf"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a great movie associated with the holiday season. Many will be awesome, some will be extra awesome. Enjoy.

Day 6: “Elf”

Opened Doors: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5

I wanted to give RD the day off and try my hand at the SeedSing Advent Calendar of Holiday Movies. Today I want to talk about one of, if not my, favorite holiday movies of all time, "Elf".

I have been a Will Ferrell fan for a long, long time. I loved him on "SNL", he was great in some not so good movies like "Night at the Roxbury" and "Superstar". He was awesome, and stole scenes in the first 2 "Austin Powers" movies. I loved him, and the movie, "The Ladies Man". He did great voice work on "The Oblongs". Who could forget him in movies like "Zoolander" and "Old School"? All of these movies happened prior to "Elf" though.

Before "Elf", Ferrell was becoming more widely known. But, "Elf" made truly a household name. He starred in a great, great movie that the entire family could watch. And let us not forget, he was the true, one and only star. This movie is filled with old and new stars. People like James Caan and Mary Steenburgen have smaller parts. Jon Favreau not only had a minor role as a doctor, but he also directed the movie. Bob Newhart played a fatherly Elf. Ed Asner was Santa. Zooey Deschanel played his co worker turned girlfriend, turned wife. Faizon Love and Peter Dinklage had small, but very, very memorable roles. Amy Sedaris was delightful as the secretary. Andy Richter and Kyle Gass were extremely funny. Artie Lange plays a very terrifying Santa. Even famed musician Leon Redbone plays a voice of a Snowman in the movie. But Ferrell shines above them all.

The movie has a fairly basic plot, but with a twist. In short it is about an orphaned kid going home to meet his dad. He runs into some problems along the way, but it all works out. The twist in this movie though, the orphaned kid is raised in the North Pole by a family of Christmas elves. And Will Ferrell is totally believable as Buddy, the orphaned elf. I fully buy into the fact that he really, truly believes that he is an elf. He definitely gives off the vibe that he was raised to make toys and deliver them to Santa to give to kids on Christmas. When he leaves the North Pole and goes to New York to meet his biological dad, James Caan, his joyous attitude turns everyone off, except the viewer. He is so giddy and happy and smiling and waving and talking all the time. But this is exactly how I would expect one of Santa's elves to act. And the food he eats, it is so gross, but again, believable. When he downs that entire 2 liter of Coke, it makes me howl with laughter every time, especially when he belches. His idea of a meal, spaghetti covered in pop tarts, candy canes, maple syrup and all kinds of other sugary substances, is so gross yet so funny.

At the heart of “Elf” is Buddy's Christmas cheer rubbing off on everyone he comes into contact with. His step mom, Steenburgen, buys in right away. She is fully on board. Their son, Mikey, is skeptical at first, but after the snowball fight, another great scene, he buys in. Obviously, his family in the North Pole is in from the start. Zooey Deschanel is very skeptical, but as time goes on she not only buys in, but grows to love him. The hardest person to crack is Caan. He is the typical workaholic dad, and he very much dislikes Buddy at first, but he eventually comes around. When he finally starts to sing at the end of the movie, so Santa can ride his sleigh, it is magical.

“Elf” has everything a holiday movie should have. It is warm, cozy, funny and has a great lesson behind it. But Ferrell as Buddy is the coup de grace. He is the main reason everyone should watch this movie. He is so good, and this is the role that, in my opinion, launched him into super stardom. He was great, and "Elf" is a great, great Christmas movie. Make sure to watch this one this holiday season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Need to get way into the holiday season with some great television. Check out Darlene Love and David Letterman create their own Christmas tradition.

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