Welcome back to the Festival Film Club! Today, we're gonna move our focus onto another of my favorites. I'd debated with myself about being "that guy" and making this one about Die Hard, but between the realization that I hadn't seen Die Hard in years, along with the fact that I actually do not want to be that guy, we have landed on Elf. Truth be told, Elf could make a case as my absolute favorite, so I'm happy I settled on it, and I'm excited to talk with you all about it.

Elf stars Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, and James Caan as Buddy the Elf, Jovie, and Walter respectively. Its filled with great performances, especially from Caan and Ferrell, wonderful gags, and really embodies the Christmas spirit. It completely understands what it is, and the message it wants to send to its audience, making for a wonderful and wholesome story that everyone can enjoy and relate to.

The funniest Christmas comedy ever, in my opinion, is Elf. It's prime Will Ferrell and excellent James Caan, and absolutely full of iconic moments. I don't think there is a single "bad" joke in this film, everything has tremendous punch and timing, and the sight gags match up just as well. I have multiple people in my life, of all ages even, who will consistently answer the phone with "what's your favorite color" during the Christmas holiday, others who will mimic Buddy's style of hopping through a crosswalk, and certainly some who will sport Christmas sweaters in his elf costume style. Elf is honestly much more deeply ingrained into holiday culture than I think a lot of people realize. In fact, I'd go as far as saying its underrated severely in most circles. Elf is not ingrained in pop culture, it doesn't rely on references to current events for its jokes, it's a timeless classic that can be watched today and enjoyed to the fullest. At this point I would say your average person would be able to pick Elf out from just one or two quotes, which is a fairly monumental achievement for a movie such as itself.

This is another short one, but I'm having a bit of writer's block the past few days, so most of my energy is being focused to work because of that. Nonetheless, I hope this meeting has been enjoyable for you all, and I'd love to hear your opinions on this film! It's the most wonderful time of the year, so let's celebrate with camaraderie and fun discussing the beloved movie, Elf. Let's talk about it!