Elf

After years of specializing in playing obnoxiously oblivious nitwits, Saturday Night Live alum Will Ferrell has finally hit upon a role perfectly tuned to his niche talent--an obnoxiously oblivious nitwit orphan who grew up at the North Pole thinking he's one of Santa's helpers. Buddy the elf's inherent kindheartedness and selfless good intentions are the saving-grace elements that Ferrell's performances have always been missing in the past, and they help make Elf a rare Christmas comedy that is somehow both astutely droll and full of family-friendly holiday good cheer. After he's finally told why he's three feet taller than his peers and "the only baritone in the elf choir," Buddy embarks on a clueless, wide-eyed journey to Manhattan in search of his real father (James Caan), a cynical children's book publisher who is--gasp!--on Santa's "naughty list." Directed by Jon Favreau (best known as writer and star of Swingers), Elf strikes a nimble balance between its kid-conscious sensibilities and its snarky sense of humor, but it's saddled with a subplot about a shortage of Christmas spirit causing a power crisis on Santa's sleigh that falls a little flat. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras for this double-disc set include both widescreen and full screen versions, while “Beyond the Movie” and “All Access Pass” infinifilm features include pop-up links to scene-related special features, a subtitled fact track, audio commentaries (one by director Jon Favreau; the other by star Will Ferrell), five behind-the-scenes featurettes (58 min.), four Christmas-related featurettes (30 min.), eight deleted/alternate scenes (11 min.) with optional commentary by Favreau, 15 “Music from Elf” song selections with intros by Favreau, three “Elf Karaoke” songs, the read-along story “Elf: A Short Story of a Tall Tale,” games (“The Race Down Mt. Icing,” “Elf in the City,” “Snowball Fight,” and “Fix Santa's Sleigh”), an 11-page text “film dictionary," Easter eggs, and DVD-ROM features. Bottom line: a Santa-sized extras package for a so-so film.] [R. Blackwelder)