Elf (2003) Review

CLAYTON'S CHRISTMAS CINEMA!

Elf (2003) Review

Will Ferrell may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you can’t deny the man has talent and makes loads of people bust a gut laughing, even with some of his not-so-great films. You also can’t deny that Elf is a modern Christmas classic and one of Ferrell’s best roles to date.

Buddy the elf crawled into Santa’s bag of toys on Christmas Eve when he was just a baby living at an orphanage. Santa didn’t realize Buddy had stowed away until he got back to the North Pole, so Papa elf (Bob Newhart) adopted him and raised him as an elf. Then one day, adult Buddy (Will Ferrell) realizes he’s a human who’s been raised by elves, and embarks on an epic journey to New York City to meet his real dad Walter Hobbs (James Caan) and reconnect with him. Unfortunately for Buddy, his father is a workaholic at a book publisher who doesn’t have enough time for his wife or other younger son, and worse yet, he’s on the naughty list. Unfortunately for Walter, Buddy resorts to a childhood state of mind once he meets him and will stop at nothing to spread Christmas cheer to everyone in New York. Come Christmas Eve, there isn’t enough Christmas spirit to help Santa’s sleigh fly, so Buddy must enlist the help of his newfound friends and family to reignite the spirit of the holidays and save Christmas.

Elf is one of my favourite Christmas films ever. If you aren’t a fan of Will Ferrell, this movie might not be for you, but if you do enjoy his sense of humour, then this is a must-see. It manages to capture the magical feel of classics like Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (thanks to some animation and even a direct reference to the original TV special) and also appeal to older viewers with some more adult humour a la Jingle All the Way or Bad Santa. Will Ferrell is instantly iconic as Buddy, and like his other memorable roles, he has numerous quotable lines (“He’s an angry elf”, “Son of a nutcracker!”, and “Buddy the elf what’s your favourite colour?” come to mind). As well as Ferrell, the whole cast is great. Caan is perfect as the grouchy old dad, and even the smaller parts are memorable, such as Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) as rich author Miles Finch and Faizon Love as the manager at Gimbels. It’s hard to pinpoint anything truly wrong or bad about this film. Zooey Deschanel’s character is a Grinch throughout most of the movie (on purpose) and she’s sort of reminiscent of Phoebe Cates in Gremlins. Though she comes around by the end, her dour attitude is always a comedown. Not every single joke works, but when does that ever happen in a comedy? These small things never detract from how great the movie is as a whole.

Elf only gets funnier every time you see it. It has all the essentials that make a good Christmas film rolled up into one hilarious adventure, with Will Ferrell at his best. If there’s one film I would recommend the whole family sit down to watch together this holiday season, it is this one.    

A Christmas Story (1983) Review

CLAYTON'S CHRISTMAS CINEMA!

A Christmas Story (1983) Review

Cited by many as the greatest Christmas film ever, A Christmas Story is not among the Christmas films I grew up with, so it was a new experience for me this December, and I went in with expectations fairly high. While I can’t say it lived up to those expectations, A Christmas Story is still a fun time and clearly a classic for many good reasons.

Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) is a pretty average kid living in the 1940s, with an odd little brother, a strict father with a potty mouth, an annoying mother, and a dream that he will get an air rifle for Christmas. He knows his mother will initially shoot down the idea, and over the course of the film, he finds out not only does she think “You’ll shoot your eye out”, but every other adult does too. Ralphie and his classmates are given an assignment at school to write about what they want for Christmas, which doesn’t help Ralphie’s cause. Even going to see an intimidating (and slightly abusive) Santa Clause at the mall does nothing to increase the likelihood of getting that fabled air rifle. During this personal mission to get the gift he wants, Ralphie has to overcome other pitfalls along the way—including two neighbourhood bullies that chase him and his friends to and from school—but the air rifle is what will make or break this hectic Christmas.

A Christmas Story manages to capture the magic of Christmas while simultaneously telling an original and mostly compelling story, based on parts of the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, by Jean Shepherd. It’s quite obvious right away it’s based on a book, because throughout the film, an older Ralphie narrates young Ralphie’s adventures, and while it does allow for some great comedic moments, it feels overdone at times. Peter Billingsley is great as young Ralphie. A large portion of the film’s success rides on him being able to deliver a strong performance even as a young child, and he manages to do so. The main issue I have with A Christmas Story is the whole Christmas aspect. While it does open with Christmas music and a clear setup regarding the gift Ralphie wants, the soundtrack feels lacking, and during the first and second acts, there are large portions that seem to forget about the Christmas theme. While I didn’t expect it to be bashing the audience over the head with “Hey, this movie is all about Christmas, remember?!” it did feel like extended consecutive scenes were lacking any real Christmas elements. The first act is also quite slow despite the initial setup being to the point early on and there aren’t many good jokes. Luckily, by the third act, the pace picks up, the jokes hit harder and faster and funnier, and the Christmas themes are in full swing. Most of the standout scenes come in the second half of the movie, including the Santa visit and the family going to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner after their turkey gets eaten by the neighbour’s dogs. 

A Christmas Story is not among the all-time greatest Christmas films in my books, but it is still a sincere story with many classic scenes, a great lead performance, and some clever comical moments.

Jingle All the Way (1996) Review

 CLAYTON'S CHRISTMAS CINEMA!

Jingle All the Way (1996) Review

There are those more serious Christmas film classics, like It’s A Wonderful Life or Die Hard, and then there are some on the lighter side of things, such as Jingle All the Way, starring the king of eighties action, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Christmas should be about having fun, and this film is definitely fun all the way.

Schwarzenegger plays a businessman too busy to spend time with his son Jaime (Jake Lloyd, the annoying kid who played young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace). He’s tasked with getting an action figure for Jaime based on his favourite TV show, Turbo-Man. He forgets to do so and at the last minute must embark on a perilous journey to obtain a Turbo-Man figure for Jaime, the only thing that will salvage their relationship. But, as he quickly finds out, Turbo-Man dolls are in high demand and have gone out of stock in the major department stores. Also in competition to find one along the way is another father (Sinbad, the comedian not the sailor), who works for the post office. Schwarzenegger will have to resort to trying to steal a Turbo-Man from someone else who was able to buy one, trying to get one from a secret group of shifty Santas that are pretty much running the black market of toys, and even trying to steal one from his neighbour’s house. As Christmas quickly approaches, Schwarzenegger takes drastic measures to ensure his son has the best Christmas possible.

Jingle All the Way is simply a blast. It’s never trying to be anything more than it is, which is a silly, fun family film about the holidays and the crazy lengths we go to just to get someone a present. If you’re a fan of Schwarzenegger, you can’t help but laugh as he dishes out seasonal one-liners and as much action as he can. Seriously, I never expected to witness Arnold Schwarzenegger punch a reindeer in the face AND fly around with a jetpack, all in the same movie! The story is really nothing special, but the pace is fast and it never takes itself too seriously. Some of the actors do go a little over the top in their roles; particularly Phil Hartman as the sleazy next-door neighbour and Sinbad as the rival father trying just as hard to get a Turbo-Man as Schwarzenegger. You may have noticed I keep referring to the main character as Schwarzenegger instead of by the character name. Honestly, I don’t remember the name of the character he played. It doesn’t matter, he’s Schwarzenegger, and the character’s are, admittedly, pretty forgettable, but that doesn’t stop them (and the movie as a whole) from still being entertaining.

Jingle All the Way is the kind of Christmas movie best enjoyed with your brain turned off. It doesn’t have stand out acting or special effects or an original message about the true meaning of Christmas, but it does have some great gags, fun action set pieces, and even a few heartfelt moments.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) Review

CLAYTON'S CHRISTMAS CINEMA!

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) Review

Written by the late and great John Hughes (the genius behind Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, and Planes, Train, and Automobiles) comes what many consider a modern Christmas classic, starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, the father of a pretty average American family who wants to go all-out for a Christmas the family will never forget. I watched Christmas Vacation for the first time this holiday season, and while I can’t say I loved it, I can definitely see where the nostalgia comes from for those who saw it at a young age or back in the day when it was released.

Clark Griswold has big plans this Christmas season. He wants to build a pool in his backyard with the Christmas bonus he knows is coming to him, he wants to outshine the entire neighbourhood by putting up a record-shattering 25,000 Christmas lights, but first, he takes his family out into the frigid wilderness to get a Christmas tree—a wild one from the untamed beauty of the woods—the old fashioned way. He invites the entire family over for Christmas, thinking it will be a swell time. Of course a few things go wrong. Okay, maybe for than a few things. As his plans start to crumble, Clark finds himself losing the Christmas spirit as the big day grows nearer and nearer and thing get worse and worse. His wife's cousin shows up, bringing along the family in an RV, their mischievous, drooling dog, and no presents for the kids. Clark must do all in his power in order to keep the spirit of the holidays alive (and his sanity intact).

At many points during Christmas Vacation, I couldn’t help but feel I was missing something. As it turns out, I was. Christmas Vacation is the third film in the ongoing National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise, and if you haven’t seen the first two, there are some things regarding character traits and minor inside jokes you won’t understand, but for the most part, the plot and humour is self contained. The first act is a little shaky with its setup, but once the ball gets rolling, the jokes keep coming in rapid succession. Not all the jokes work—there were some running gags I didn’t care for—but for the most part, Christmas Vacation is a very fun time, and fully embraces the seasonal setting. Crazy Christmas antics include issues with the lights actually lighting up, a squirrel in the tree, senile family members, and plenty more. Chevy Chase is great in the role as a slightly eccentric husband and father trying not to lose his mind as the problems mount and get steadily trickier and more over-the-top. I didn’t love the final wrap up of the film, but it has enough sequences of physical humour and clever gags that it never ceases to be entertaining.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a funny and enjoyable Christmas flick with all the essential ingredients that makes a Christmas movie great. It may not be outright hilarious, but it certainly holds nostalgic value for many, and is easily accessible to any newcomers to the franchise.

Gremlins (1984) Review

CLAYTON'S CHRISTMAS CINEMA!

Gremlins (1984) Review

Gremlins, produced by Steven Spielberg (who also produced The Goonies and Back to the Future during the same decade) and directed by Joe Dante (director of the original Piranha and The Howling), was originally released in the summer, despite having a Christmas theme, but has since gone on to become strongly connected to the holidays for many film fanatics, including myself.

It starts out with a businessman trying to find a Christmas present for his son Billy (Zach Galligan) at an eerie store in Chinatown. He tries to sell the old Asian shopkeeper one of his bogus products, which becomes a theme throughout the movie.  This guy is convinced his crazy inventions are world changing, but they actually suck. He buys a mysterious creature called a Mogwai, a cute furry little ball of love that comes with three specific rules. 1: Don’t expose him to bright lights. 2: Never get him wet. 3: Never, EVER, feed him after midnight. Billy loves his new pet, which he names Gizmo, but soon the innocent Gizmo gets wet and spawns several new Mogwai that are significantly more troublesome than the content (and suddenly concerned) Gizmo. The new Mogwai get their hands on some fried chicken and eat it after midnight, and soon they shed their cute exteriors and take on an uglier and more hostile form: Gremlins! The little group of monstrous misfits start by terrorizing Billy’s mom, but soon they get more water on them, spawn more Gremlins, and before Billy knows it, the whole town is overrun in hordes of Gremlins. It’s up to him, his girlfriend Kate (Phoebe Cates), and Gizmo to save the town and destroy the hard-partying Gremlins before it’s too late.

This is easily my favourite Christmas film ever and one of my favourite films in general. The antics of the Gremlins are so crazy and so relentless you can’t help but be entertained. I could go in depth with all the scenes involving some of their over the top actions—director Joe Dante’s love for Looney Tunes shines through—but I’ll refrain from reiterating them in case you’ve never seen it. In terms of the Christmas aspect, it hits all the necessary notes. There are some classic Christmas songs throughout, and many holiday traditions get assaulted. The Gremlins devour Christmas cookies, attack a guy in a Santa outfit, and pretend to be Christmas carollers in what is surely one of the most hilarious and over the top death scenes ever filmed. The amount of satire contained in this movie is palpable. It pokes fun at everything, from cheesy sci-fi plots, to horror clichés, to some of the absurdities with the commercialism of Christmas. It’s combo of comedy and horror (some of which becomes fairly extreme, including a Gremlin exploding in a microwave) even influenced the creation of the PG-13 rating—making it another one of Spielberg’s boundary-pushing productions.

I really can’t say enough good things about Gremlins. The sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, which doesn’t take place at Christmas, is almost as overlooked as the original often is. In terms of sequels, it does what you would expect: get bigger, crazier, and more satirical, and in many ways (especially in terms of special effects) is superior to the original. But, as good as Gremlins 2 is, nothing can beat the first Gremlins. It’s happy, it’s sad, it’s fun, it’s scary, and above all, entertaining while capturing the Christmas spirit like no other film has.

For more on Gremlins, check out CCC Issue #3 and Movie vs. Movie Issue #1

http://cccmovies.blogspot.ca/2013/12/movie-vs-movie-issue-1-how-grinch-stole.html

http://cccmovies.blogspot.ca/2013/12/ccc-issue-3-top-5-christmas-movies.html