2003, PG, 95 minutes

Need a big, bright jolt of Christmas spirit (in early November)? Elf is here to fit the bill. Former Saturday Night Live funnyman Will Ferrell makes a strong play for movie stardom in this predictable, fish-out-of-water family comedy. His goofy, wildly enthusiastic performance rescues Elf from the sitcom situations of its script and makes the movie worth a look.

Some thirty years ago, Santa Claus (Edward Asner) visited an orphanage and unknowingly brought an infant back to the North Pole. Now all grown up, Buddy (Ferrell) sees nothing strange in being the only 6 foot 3 inch elf in Santa's workshop. Through his adopted father, Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), Buddy is shocked to learn he is human after all. Buddy wants to know where he came from, so Papa Elf gives him a photo of his biological parents and a New York City snow globe, and sends Buddy on his way.

The overgrown elf arrives in New York from the North Pole (via the Lincoln Tunnel) and has no trouble locating his father, Walter (James Caan), a hard-driven book publisher. Walter never knew about Buddy, and he sees this grown man in an elf's costume as a "deranged" lunatic and calls for security. When Buddy finds his way into a department store, he's mistaken for one of the Christmas employees and is put to work. There he meets Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), a cynical New Yorker who is nonetheless intrigued by this man who claims to be an elf.

Before long, Buddy finds his way into Walter's life (and his home), charming Walter's wife Emily (Mary Steenburgen) and son Michael (Daniel Tay) with his childlike innocence and love of syrup. At Emily's insistence, Walter brings Buddy to work with him, which leads to loads of comedic situations involving mailroom mishaps (Buddy gets drunk with a coworker), and boardroom high jinks (Buddy mistakes a dwarf client for a real elf, and gets a beating for it). All of this silliness culminates with an action climax in which Buddy is called upon by a Santa (who has crash-landed his sleigh in Central Park) to save Christmas.

Much of this is as corny as it sounds, but the movie's success is really thanks to Ferrell, a no-holds-barred comedic actor who plays Buddy with an infectious enthusiasm and sense of fun. Whether Buddy is marveling at the size of human toilets or leaping on a Christmas tree to get the star on top, Ferrell's zany energy never falters. He manages to give Buddy a wide-eyed innocence that's always amusing and even touching at times.

Elf is completely Will Ferrell's show. If you like him, you will probably enjoy the movie. Director Jon Favreau has assembled an excellent supporting cast but has given them very little to do. In addition to Caan, Steenburgen, and the gifted Deschanel (who gets to show off her singing talents here with a rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside"), there's also Amy Sedaris, Andy Richter, and Tenacious D's Kyle Gass in small roles. Favreau wisely keeps Elf at a brisk, family-friendly 90 minutes, since much of the movie's appeal will be for children. Oh, and it also would help to be a Will Ferrell fan.