I can't believe I only just watched this for the first time. Very enjoyable.

Elf

I'd not seen this before but it's really fun and it whizzes by. Not quite sure I will ever think of it as a Christmas classic like Home Alone or The Snowman, but it's a good film and I can see why it did so well back in 2003. James Caan's complete U-turn on Buddy comes out of nowhere, and it gets a bit too jolly in the end, but I guess that's part and parcel of a Christmas movie. And Zooey Deschanel is absolutely lovely.

Favreau is a strange director. He has no identifiable stamp but he seems to attach himself to movies that just make money. Elf, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Cowboys & Aliens, The Jungle Book ... he's a bankable dude behind the camera!

Anyway, this is a solid B that I could EASILY watch again as it plays in the background every Christmas.

Watching Will Ferrell acting like a baby with an all-innocent attitude is fun.

68/100 (B)

Holiday classic

I don't care too much, but there is a tendency in film that when a man overworks it is all about negligence, and it only comes good when he makes a big gesture at the end of the film, but when a woman overworks it is because she is an empowered single parent making ends meet. It is not about the circumstances as much as it's about the way male and female characters are portrayed. One is good and the other is bad. I am sure there are alternate examples too, but this one is quite obvious and played out in Hollywood.

I just realized zwackerm is a member of the SJWs!

It is a long-held belief stemming from religious and cultural traditions that mothers are more nurturing than fathers. Hollywood is just a reflection of that. There are way more single-parent families that are headed by mothers than those by fathers. Mothers usually win custody battles where the best interests of the children are considered. Maybe we need more stay-at-home dads to change that belief.

Hollywood can make people fly and bring dinosaurs back to life so don't preach that bullshit about reflecting reality.

So you are in support of "left-wing social engineering" by Hollywood?

I don't care either way. I just want good films. But I reject this notion that Hollywood must reflect reality when it suits us.

You care about men being stereotyped, judging from your posts.

A fictional plot. A male book publisher neglects his family and tricks book readers while working to make a profit for his company. Later he learns that caring for family and others is more important than making money. Pretty harmless. But people will start complaining about how men should or should not be portrayed in the film. Men are portrayed in a variety of characters in films. Even in the same film, Will Ferrell and James Caan are complete opposites. Okay, let's switch gender roles. If James Caan is replaced by an actress, the same people will say they do this to pander to females and gays.

So convenient.

Nice assumption there.

Watched it for the first time yesterday with the kids and thought it was wonderful. Very enjoyable and very funny while still remaining family friendly. A-

Just watched the Musical. I tell you you take away Farrell this is pretty shit story. I wouldn't recommend the show except if you have kids.