Elf
Rated PGThe Basics
Title: Elf
Rating: PG
Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Best for Ages 4+
Ages 3 - 7: Yellow
Ages 8 - 12: Green
Ages 13 - 17: Green
Violence Amount: Green
Violence Portrayal:
Green
Fear: Green
Illegal / Harmful: Green
Language: Yellow
Nudity: Green
Sex: Green
Review:
Adults think of Will Ferrell as the Saturday
Night Live comedian and the star of “Old
School”. Usually, he’s off-color
and crude, but he’s changed his persona
for the movie “Elf”. He’s never
been gentler. As an infant in an orphanage,
he slips into Santa’s bag on Christmas
night and Santa (Ed Asner) does not discover
him until he’s back at the North Pole.
Santa’s head elf (Bob Newhart) volunteers
to take care of him and names him Buddy. Years
go by until Buddy finally hears the other
elves saying that he is human. His mother
died when he was a baby, but he wants to meet
his real father, so he goes to New York to
search. Unfortunately, Buddy is dressed like
an elf and no one takes him seriously. He
is mistaken for an employee elf at Gimbel’s
Department Store where he meets Jove (Zoey
Deschanel). She is the girl of his dreams.
He also makes contact with his father, his
wife, and their son. Suddenly, he has a new
family and he’s learning many things
about life as a human. The mistakes he makes
trying to live like a human are very amusing.
Everything comes to a head on Christmas Eve
when Santa is in trouble because people don’t
believe in him enough. Buddy helps Santa to
fly and helps make people believe again. This
is a very, sweet, entertaining movie for the
whole family. There is some mild rude humor
and bad language, but everything else is sweetness
and light. If your children are old enough
to sit through a movie, they will enjoy this
one and so will the adults. The importance
of family and spending time with the family
is highlighted in a very entertaining way.
Also, diversity is a key issue of the movie.
Everyone is not alike and should be accepted
for who they are.
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 Linda
Thomas is a native Minnesotan. She
graduated from the University of
Minnesota with a double major in
sociology and psychology. Married
with a family, she has remained
in the Minneapolis area.
Linda has been a lover of movies
since she was a small child. This
love of film eventually brought
her to the point in life where
she is now, a film critic. She
was featured on WCCO radio for
three years on the “Dark
in the Morning” show with
Dark Star.
In December of 2001, Linda became
the film critic for the syndicated
“Ruth Koscielak Show”.
Linda sees over 150 movies a
year and has had the opportunity
to interview a number of directors
and actors when they are in town.
She has also appeared on a public
access show called the "Cinema
Judge" and has ventured into
writing for "Cinestar"
magazine in September 2002. The
Twin Cities movie magazine is
available, for free, at most local
Blockbuster's and local movie
cheaters.
Her website is: www.lindathomasmovies.com
As one of the few female reviewers
in the Twin Cities area, she brings
a unique point of view to her
reviews. Linda has raised two
children, a boy and a girl, and
knows what they like in movies
and what is appropriate. Hopefully,
her reviews will help your family
in choosing where to next spend
your movie-going dollar.
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