MOVIE REVIEW: Oversized “Elf” brings big holiday laughs

B+

I’m not a big Will Ferrell fan. I dug what he did in “Zoolander,” but other than that, he’s not really my thing. Maybe it was the 10 minutes I stomached of “A Night At The Roxbury” that did it. All I know is that I didn’t go into “Elf” expecting much.

The key to happiness is low expectations. “Elf” is actually a lot of fun. It’s funny, it’s got a great cast, and it won’t make you squirm on a date. (Unless the sight of a 6-foot-4 man in tight yellow tights strikes you as unseemly.)

“Elf” is a Christmas story, though, so if you are the type of person who becomes infuriated when Christmas decorations predate Thanksgiving by a month, you might want to hold off on seeing it.

My initial fears were calmed at the introduction of the film’s narrator, Bob Newhart. You don’t see Bob in a lot of movies, but you can be pretty assured that if he shows up it will be a good one.

Besides narrating, Newhart also plays Ferrell’s surrogate elf-parent, assigned to him when Ferrell’s character stows away in Santa’s bag one Christmas Eve as an infant. Since the baby came from an orphanage, it is raised on the North Pole as an elf. Well, a 6-foot-4 elf, anyway.

Eventually, Ferrell has to go find his real family and rejoin the world of humans, and thus begins the predictable but enjoyable fish-out-of-water story. Fortunately, the film’s atmosphere, writing, and Ferrell’s acting combine in a way that is charming and fun to watch, rather than obnoxious.

The supporting cast is good, too. Zooey Deschanel plays Ferrell’s love interest, and James Caan (greatest death scene of all time as Sonny Corleone in “Godfather”) plays Ferrell’s biological father. Actually, as much as I like Caan, it might have been cooler to have Christopher Walken in the role, maybe as a reward for making my “coolest actors ever” list.

One role I’d leave untouched is Santa Claus, played by Ed Asner. If any of you have ever watched old Mary Tyler Moore Show reruns on Nick at Nite, Asner plays Mary’s short, fat, bald boss. He’s a great Santa.

“Elf” isn’t going to win any awards, but it doesn’t need to. Like “The Rundown” a few weeks back, “Elf” is a movie that is happy to be what it is: a fun, simple film that fits in well with the holiday season.

(Wait. I’m not saying that “Rundown” is a fun and simple holiday movie, what I mean is that it’s happy to be what it is. The ‘fun and simple’ line was for “Elf.”)

Looks like semester break is coming just in time. Joshua Terry is a graduate student in the American studies program. He can be contacted at jterry@english.usu.edu.