Jon Favreau wanted his Christmas comedy Elf to become a Christmas classic.
Actually I’m kind of surprised it hasn’t yet. It has all the elements needed to
establish it firmly in the canon. The reason I say Favreau wanted that is
because it looks like he went out of his way to give it the look and feel of
other classic holiday fare from both film and television. In this unusual and
often uproarious story of a human raised by North Pole elves who goes to New
York City seeking out his real father, Favreau’s direction keeps the comedy
coming at consistent intervals while also injecting the right amount of
sentiment. He never pushes the sappy stuff too hard, but it’s strong enough to
give you a good feeling. David Berenbaum’s screenplay deserves credit for the
straightforward plotting, some damn good jokes and an appropriate level of
holiday spiritedness.
