Elf (2003)

Elf is pretty impregnable as a festive feast. Will Ferrell does his thing as Buddy the elf who travels to New York from the North Pole to find his Father, who isn’t aware that he exists. Buddy has grown up with Santa and his elves, and his lack of awareness of the real world leads to plenty of Christmas hilarity in the big apple. I remember missing Elf on the big screen when it was released twenty years ago and being pretty annoyed about it; and despite seeing it several times since, I was lucky enough to finally watch it in a cinema last year with my daughter which was especially fantastic as she was enjoying it for the first time. Elf’s a heap of fun, and unlike so many Christmas howlers, Elf maintains its humour and charm for its duration. It’s welcoming to see James Caan on the big screen, a long way from The Godfather in style if not setting and Zooey Deschanel adds character to proceedings, slowly falling for Buddy and his mad ways. Elf makes good use of the Christmas message and thankfully doesn’t go the way of several saccharin Christmas films with their vomit inducing filth. One imagines this will continue to be considered a classic for many years to come. 7.7/10