Elf (2003)

In 2003, the world demanded two things.  A new Christmas comedy and a new Will Ferrell movie.  Not one to disappoint, Santa made some magic as he waved his hand and screamed “Merry Fucking Christmas everybody!”, and the result was one of the newer Christmas classics, Elf.  Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, a human who ends up in the North Pole after crawling into Santa’s bag one night. Santa decides to keep him and Buddy is then raised by the elfiest elf of all, Bob Newhart. But Buddy isn’t a true elf and doesn’t fit in, so he leaves to find his estranged father in NYC and hijinx ensue.  Jon Favreau directed this whimsical adventure that also stars James Caan as Buddy’s dad, Zooey Deschanel as the love interest who happens to love grown men who have childlike minds, and Mary Steenburgen as the accepting and loving step-mom.  Made for $33 million, Elf brought home $220 million at the box office and maintains a strong following among Christmas movie fans.  But, does it hold up? Listen in as Jon, Colin, and Brent talk all things Santa and see if this Christmas comedy a new tradition that is worth the trouble of a trip to the North Pole, or if they discover that this holiday flick is a hoax and the only gift they are getting this year is a lump of coal and a bad movie.