Elf's hopeful and uplifting response to post-9/11 cynicism is gentle, right up to a climax where the world is huddled around their television sets watching news reports trying to figure out what's that thing that crashed in New York City.

| Dec 11, 2023

It’s not just the lines, written by David Berenbaum, that work... It’s Ferrell’s bullish commitment to the concept that holds the Jon Favreau-directed film together.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 1, 2023

While his plotting may leave a little to be desired, Favreau directs with speed, humour and efficiency.

| Dec 14, 2014

Ferrell is a hoot. So is much of this witty holiday family entertainment, which, up until the end, when the "true spirit of Christmas" must be reaffirmed, happily favors slapstick over treacle.

| Dec 14, 2014

Sure, Elf feels a little too feel-good at the end, but what do you expect? It's a Christmas movie! Anything else would be the cinematic equivalent of finding coal in your stocking.

| Dec 4, 2013

The cast wrings laughs out of David Berenbaum's script as if it were a damp washcloth, but even they have trouble selling frenetic button-pushing as the Christmas spirit.

| Dec 4, 2013

A disarmingly funny holiday comedy.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 7, 2011

Peppy holiday favorite for both kids and parents.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 31, 2010

Delivers a warm, feel-good Christmas ending that will inspire the hope that even New York City can have Christmas spirit -- at least of the Hollywood kind.

| Original Score: B- | Oct 29, 2008

The result is a turkey.

| Nov 27, 2007

The film soon bogs down in fake hugs and a fakier climax involving Santa (Ed Asner) and his downed sled.

| Nov 27, 2007

Ferrell's man-child invites sympathy and sniggers, making this amusing despite some flimsy plotting. Sight gags and a Santa-centred story should keep the kids happy, too.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 30, 2006

Some humour might sail over the heads of the very young, but there's a higher chuckle rate for the grown-ups than much dread 'family' fare.

| Jan 26, 2006

Exudes genuine holiday cheer.

| Original Score: B+ | May 3, 2005

I love watching Ferrell do his gangly, clueless shtick, and even here, there's something inherently funny about just seeing him in a big, green elf suit. There's something inherently funny about Ferrell -- period.

Full Review | Aug 7, 2004

A jovial seasonal treat, from director Jon Favreau and screenwriter David Berenbaum...

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 15, 2004

It's a bracingly subversive story told with tongue firmly in cheek.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 18, 2003

A movie that's so profoundly ridiculous that it has to be admired, if for no other reason other than its sheer willingness to run with its premise and take it to the end of the line.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 9, 2003

A movie made by people who really have their thinking caps on.

| Nov 8, 2003

Well, the gloves are off this time around, for no matter how many different ways you look at it, former Saturday Night Live funnyman Will Ferrell's Christmas comedy Elf is a big lump of Yule tide coal.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Nov 8, 2003