So, not a first viewing of 2003's Elf, but the only time I've seen it in a cinema, plus it's been a few years since I last watched Will Ferrell fidget and squirm slightly, as if director Jon Favreau's not letting him really cut loose the way he'd like.
The thing is, it is quite a good movie. True, there's that odd sort of emotional disconnect whereby the only character you can really warm to seems to exhibit naivety to the point of undiagnosed learning-difficulties. True, the casting of Will Ferrell and James Caan probably wasn't the best choice, as Ferrell struggles with sincerity and Caan struggles with humour, which are the two tentpoles of any Christmas comedy, and true, the film would have had a far greater energy with Jim Carrey as Buddy. True, Zooey Deschanel's character, Jovie, is under-written to the point of being a placeholder image, and Mary Steenburgen's Emily isn't far behind. And true, the film is essentially Crocodile Dundee meets Big, with a few homages to Back To The Future thrown in at the end, and set at Christmas.
But y'know what? I quite like it. When the final reel comes around, the Elf delivers like a rejuvenated Santa Claus, and the film's message of simple, old-fashioned goodwill brings a grin to my face. Not quite a teary-eye, but we can't have everything...
Well, it's not as madcap as that trailer would have you believe, but it's about right tonally.
Mostly, but probably not as hard as I was supposed to.
I think it probably does.
There's nothing overly cinematic about Elf, but if you're a fan then it's worth the trek.
Nope.
Of course I bloody will.
There ain't. Plenty of opportunities, too.
Why isn't Buddy just sectioned, though? I mean, other than this being a PG-rated family Christmas movie..?
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
A stylistic rollercoaster, which suffers from one instance of frankly dreadful casting. The problem is that when audiences in the UK see Matt Lucas with no trousers on and a comedy wig, it's more-often-than-not in the context of sketch comedy, where he'll deadpanningly play a ridiculous character with a look of bemusement on his face. That's also pretty much what he's doing in this film, but it's not what's required. Many of his scenes are performed alone, and he has no comedic foil to bounce off and the whole thing falls a bit flat. That said, I've got no idea who would play the part any better, so maybe it's the part itself?
Small Apartments is the Instagram of dark, quirky comedy; dreamlike one moment, wisecracking the next, slapstick the one after that followed by introspective pathos. It makes Seven Psychopaths look like Pulp Fiction, yet sadly it doesn't even have the character of the former, let alone the hipster attitude of the latter.
The worrying thing is that all the other characters seem to have been relatively well, but in roles that are defined by an outfit (and/or wig) with a facial expression. There's enough surreal action to maybe suggest that the entire episode is taking place inside one of the characters' minds (see also: Super), but since the closing scenes dwell more on the story-resolution of a previously incidental character, it seems unlikely, somehow.
I'd like to say that at least Small Apartments tries hard, but for about half of the runtime I just don't think that's the case. I many ways it's a noble failure, but a failure nonetheless.
The trailer is far more coherent than the actual film.
Not really, no.
I have no idea, but I do hope so.
If anything, free.
Yeah.
Nope.
Not that I heard.
Why do I bother?
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a 'catch-up' review. I watched this film at home, not at the cinema. I saw the trailer for this at the cinema, and I would have seen the film there too, but they didn't/couldn't show it. So now iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and Blockbuster get to reap the rewards of my local's advance-advertising, and I'm sure they're delighted. Now you may say "oh come on, they can't show everything down there", and that would be a valid point if they didn't do things like running Taken 2 for six weeks. Was it that successful? No, I don't think so. Twilight? Batman? Les Mes? Sure, go for it; if they're pulling the punters in then keep making that money. But Taken 2? I ask you. Anyway, this is essentially a DVD review, but still of a new(ish) film. There. I'm glad that's sorted.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Very little to say about this one, really. If you've seen the first Cloudy, you'll know pretty much what what you're getting, and the film takes that expectation and delivers nicely. It's very funny, it's very sweet, and there's enough going on to keep the kids and the adults engaged throughout.
Outstanding animation and excellently cast (and performed) voicework already put it above the other animated movie that's out at the moment, but it never quite reaches the level of greatness you feel it's aiming at. The themes are all painted very broadly and there's little in the way of subtext, but the fast-paced script and number of visual gags will make re-watching a lot of fun for quite some time.
It may rely quite heavily on puns, but Cloudy…2 has a sense of joy that's quite infectious. The film doesn't take itself too seriously, and as a result lacks the full-on emotional manipulation we're used to in this genre (a welcome change, if I'm being honest). If there was ever an animated movie which seemed happy to be classified as 'a cartoon', this is it. Enjoy.
Yeah.
I did.
I think it does.
That will depend on how eager you are to see it, ultimately.
No.
I will.
There IS.
Bill Hader is excellent as Flint Lockwood in the 'Cloudy' movies, but do you think he's got the heft to be the lead in live-action comedies?
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
