Say, here's a concept -- how about taking an elf out of Santa's workshop in the North Pole and plunking him down, pointy hat and silly tights and all, in mean old New York City?

At Christmas time? With talking snowmen? Sounds stupid.

But it isn't.

Elf, mostly thanks to Will Ferrell and a very good cast, is a surprisingly funny and (dare we say it?) charming Christmas movie. As Buddy, an innocent elf who towers over everyone else at the North Pole, Ferrell never stops being hopeful, cheerful, enthusiastic and devoted to all things Christmas.

His relentlessly good-spirited approach to life becomes the running gag in Elf, a movie that dares to suggest that boundless joy has a hope against the cynicism and materialism of the modern world. Never mind all that. It's hilarious.

When an orphan crawls into Santa's sack of toys and gets carried back to the North Pole by accident one Christmas Eve, Santa (Ed Asner) decides there's nothing to do but raise the child in his own workshop. Bob Newhart (as an elf) takes over parenting duties for the child they call Buddy, but it soon becomes obvious that nature, not nurture, will out. Buddy is three or four feet taller than all the other elves and not nearly as handy, and the day comes when he must learn the awful truth: He's a human, not an elf.

Santa locates Buddy's birth father -- James Caan, yet -- and sends Buddy off to New York to find his real family. Caan initially wants nothing to do with the young man who shows up at his office dressed in bright yellow tights and an elf suit. Undeterred, Buddy finds work at a department store, where he can indulge his taste in candy and Christmas decorations, at least until he has to unmask the store's fake Santa.

Caan's wife, played by Mary Steenburgen, is happy to go along with anything Buddy plans. The young son of the family just thinks Buddy is a big dork, but that changes. Zooey Deschanel, an employee at the store (and the romantic interest), also thinks Buddy is a big dork, but that changes.

You'll think Buddy is a big dork, but that'll change.

For its bizarre mixture of stoner humour, total innocence and a giddy love of Christmas, Elf works out to be a film that makes everyone laugh out loud. It is completely silly, but in an inspired way, and a whole lot more fun than the trailers would lead you to believe. So go. Ho-ho-ho.

(This film is rated G)

More Movie Reviews