You hear Christmas countdowns all month long. You’ve got
ABC Family’s Countdown to Christmas, and I’m sure Ryan Seacrest will be doing a
countdown of sorts, or perhaps several before the month's over. So I figured why
shouldn’t I get in on all the fun and do a Christmas themed countdown? I had a
lot of fun last summer reviewing my top five favorite films on this blog so I
figured I’d do the same for Christmas. So, from today until the day before
Christmas Eve, I’ll review my top twelve favorite Christmas movies, episodes,
and specials.
(You know, twelve days of Christmas… when you think about
it, it just made sense)
Like last summer, I’ll list each film, what makes them a
favorite, and why and rank them in the order I’ll place them in the season.
Like all lists, it’s naturally subjective, but it’s just how I roll.
Honorable
Mention: Elf (2003)
I figured that I would start the list with one that just
didn’t make it, but I still like for many reasons. The Will Ferrell comedy Elf
is a modern Christmas classic, albeit not a perfect one, but it contains much
of the humor, heart, and large story that all Christmas classics have.
Elf is the story of Buddy Hobbs, an orphan who is climbs
into Santa’s bag of toys while Santa is at an orphanage. Santa discovers Buddy
after he returns to the North Pole and while he believes he should take him
home, opts instead to raise the child under the guidance of the head Elf, Papa
Elf (Bob Newhart).
As Buddy grows up he comes to realize that he isn’t like
all the other Elves and that he doesn’t know why. He learns then about his
backstory and goes to New York City to find his real family. However, Buddy’s
gentle nature and innocence, based on the environment in which he was raised,
pales in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the big city and Buddy
finds himself in some unfortunate situations.
He eventually finds his father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan)
who isn’t the best of fathers in the world. The elder Hobbs is a publisher who
spends too much time in the office and not enough time in the life of his other
son, Michael. Walter, at first doesn’t believe that Buddy is his son, as the
guy is a total loon, but after running a DNA screening, he learns the truth.
Needless to say it doesn’t sit well. Buddy, at one point, is mistaken for an employee of Gimbals
Department store and while he “works” there he meets a stunning young woman,
Jovi (Zooey Deschanel) who is somewhat cynical from her time in the city, but
she is attracted to Buddy’s sense of innocence and wonder, a stark contrast to
other men in her life.
The plot then moves into Buddy trying to live in the real
world and the hilarity and consequences that ensure from introducing such a
person to this environment.
The movie works on many levels. For one, it’s a chance to
see Will Ferrell play that overgrown man child that he inhibits in all of his
films. The difference though, is that here it works in a way that isn’t at all
pathetic. The film is cast well, with Ferrell, Caan, and Ed Asner as Santa
Claus. Peter Billingsby, of A Christmas Story fame also makes a cameo, and the
scenes are quite memorable.
The reason I place it as an honorable mention, rather than
one of the top twelve is that the movie does fall off the edge toward the end.
When viewing it, you can tell that the writers wrote many great and wonderful
scenes, but when it came time to mesh all together, they got to end and didn’t
know where to go. So they pulled the ending together as more of an
afterthought. This may not have actually happened, but that’s the way it is
viewed, and the movie suffers for it.
But nevertheless, Elf is a great, incredibly funny
Christmas comedy that deserves a viewing each year. Worthy of anyone’s
Christmas favorites list.
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