Review: Elf

Christmas movies tend to be hit-or-miss with me. And Elf definitely didn't live up to its reputation as a hilarious, family-friendly comedy. Honestly, I wouldn't even bother with this movie (maybe try this one for a Christmas movie night instead?), but that's just my opinion. Allow me to explain myself.

Elf by New Line Cinema

(As a warning, there might maybe be spoilers in here. So beware. I’ll make sure the spoilers are alerted, but just sayin’. ;))

Raised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn't know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.

Usually these summaries are longer, but... that's really all there is to this story. *facepalm*

Star Rating

1 out of 5 stars

Content

Pros:

1. Violence--None besides mild things used for slapstick humor

2. Magic/witchcraft--None besides typical "Santa flies around on a sled" kind of magic

3. Buddy doesn't like coffee. 'Nuff said. XP

Cons:

1. Language--God's name is used in vain. Someone also says "son of a nutcracker" once. There is other mild cussing as well.

2. Sexual--This one was ridiculously heavy for a "kid's" movie - especially since most of it was played for laughs. For instance, Buddy wanders into a clothing store and unknowingly looks at women's underwear. He goes into a bathroom where a woman is showering and stays put, completely oblivious to how he's scaring her. A character pulls his pants off in front of other people. There's also kissing after only one date, which is a controversial issue but one I disagree with.

3. Smoking/drinking/drugs/etc.--Characters drink and get drunk, again for laughs.

4. Humor--Humor is often a subjective thing, but I found myself more disgusted and annoyed at most of the jokes in here than amused. Most of the content I shared was supposed to be funny, but it really wasn't. Add the frequent bathroom humor to the mix and you're setting yourself up for a lot of cringe.

Neutral:

1. Religion--There is no religion, unless you want to consider the whole Santa thing a religion. So... there isn't really anything to say about that. XD

Messages

Part of the reason I so disliked this movie was its lack of anything substantial. There's one message I got out of it: your typical, cliche Hollywood "Be who you are/be true to yourself" thing that is incredibly annoying, unhelpful, and you can find pretty much anywhere. Yeah, not impressed.

Morals

This one was every bit as bad as the messages. The one thing I found was what made up the entirety of Buddy's character: naive, childish optimism and obliviousness that the movie explains away as the "Christmas spirit". None of the characters were memorable, most were flat and cliche, and many were annoying.

Techy Stuff

I would love to say something positive about this movie here, but... I can't. The plot was boring and cliche, the character development severely lacking, even the screenwriting was a little forced at times. The soundtrack was forgettable, the CGI pretty terrible. There aren't even any good quotes, at least not that I could find. *facepalm*

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I generally try to share reviews of books and movies I think you guys would enjoy, try to point you to quality entertainment to help you find worthwhile stuff. But every now and again I find a book or movie I want to steer you away from, and that's what this was. Elf has a great reputation, at least as far as I know. But as a Christian looking for quality entertainment, this was severely lacking. I wouldn't suggest picking this one up for a Christmas movie.

Have you ever seen Elf? What are your thoughts? What books and/or movies have you read that didn't live up to their reputation? Do you have some Christmas movie recommendations for me (I need them XD)?

Until next time,

Take courage, pursue Christ, and smile while you still have teeth!! :)

-Joelle

(P.S. I typically post a review of a Christmas movie in December, but since Christmas falls on a Monday this year, I decided to do one early. ;))