Elf DVD Review

"ELF" reviews

DVD

ELF

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-26 11:16:33

Provider

DVD Review

Ah, Christmas. Maxed-out credit cards, tinsel in August and a few more pairs of socks... it's enough to make the heart swell, isn't it? Well, if Will Ferrell and this charming festive flick have their way you'll be back in the Christmas spirit before you can say 'Bah humbug'.

Ferrell plays Buddy, an orphan who, one Christmas Eve, manages to find his way into Santa's sack, ending up back at the North Pole. Rather than take Buddy back to the orphanage, Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) adopts the infant and promises to raise him as his own.

Skip forward a few years and it's obvious that Buddy (Ferrell) isn't like his co-Elfs. For a start, he's not very good at making toys, he's clumsy... and he's six foot three. After finding out that his biological father (James Caan) lives in New York, Buddy sets off on the adventure of a lifetime - to find his dad and take a bite out of the Big Apple.

As you'd expect, Elf is packed full of fish-out-of-water situations and predictable laughs, but what is surprising maybe is that it works so well. Ferrell plays Buddy with such enthusiasm and charm that it's hard not to like him, while Caan occasionally looks genuinely scared by the unpredictable giant standing beside him.

Extras include two audio commentaries - one with director Jon Favreau, the other with Ferrell himself - a fact track, plenty of fun and games and an All Access Pass, which promises the theatrical trailer, deleted and alternative scenes, behind the scene footage and an Elf jukebox.