Before 2003, Will Ferrell was just another Saturday Night Live alumnus who seemed destined to co-star in a steady flow of funny but forgettable comedies. He's got the talent but there was a certain 'it' factor that was missing since most of his roles were merely extensions of those he played on SNL. But then came Old School where Ferrell was still playing the oblivious oaf that he'd mastered in films like A Night at the Roxbury and Zoolander, but in the perfect context where the audience could finally relate and get behind him. Fast forward to the end of the year and Ferrell is headlining his first starring role in Elf, a hilarious holiday film in which Ferrell continues to play the same adorable, naive persona he's adopted as his shtick.

Ferrell plays Buddy, a Kipling-esque creation - a human raised by elves at the North Pole. Buddy thinks and acts just like every other elf, but at the age of 30 his sheer size and lack of toy-making ability show that he's something different. With the encouragement of his adopted father (Bob Newhart) and Santa (Ed Asner), Buddy makes his way to New York to find his biological father. From here Elf becomes a Tarzan story with the strange outsider taking to the city. It's all very light and fluffy, simply written and not at all challenging to the brain. But at the same time, it's funny. Very funny. And the ever-loveable Ferrell deserves the majority of the credit.

A big part of Ferrell's charm stems from the fact that he doesn't fit into the look of the typical Hollywood hunk. He's middle-aged and not attractive in a Tom Cruise sort of way. He's more like the rest of us - a little bit pudgy with somewhat flailing hair that doesn't look like it's been stylized for a couple of hours every morning. This is by no means a slight against him. I can't relate with the Brad Pitts and Colin Farrells of the world. They're too hunky. They're idealistic images of a constructed world of beauty queens and Prince Charmings. Ferrell on the other hand, looks like the 99 percent of us who don't garner second glances from every person we pass on the street. With his average looks Ferrell is an everyman, which makes him easier to relate to. Watching movies are personal experiences that look to encapsulate and create dreams. It's a lot easier to buy into a dream you can actually live in. I can't hang from an Australian cliff from one hand like Tom Cruise at the start of Mission: Impossible 2. But it is possible that I could gross people out if I were to go streaking in the streets like Ferrell did in Old School. With that film and now Elf, Ferrell has proven that he can carry a film that isn't based on something created for short skits that are funny late on a weekend night when you're half asleep. Ferrell is a funny guy because he's so much more like the most of us - confident in life, happy, yet still unsure about aspects of his life.

But now there's the challenge as to whether or not Ferrell can stay funny in a different role. Frank in Old School, Buddy from Elf, and many of the characters Ferrell played on SNL such as the cheerleader are all very naïve to the world around them. They see everything with an overly optimistic gaze and that's where much of the comedy stems from. They're innocent like kittens, out to make those around them happy even if they look like idiots doing it. With his two breakthrough films Ferrell has probably juiced this character for all he can. While they're both very funny, it's possible that without much of a variation on it, it's going to become tiresome shortly. It's time to move on and if this isn't the case, some of the special feeling and comedic fun in Elf could be lost.

©Movie Views; December 20, 2003