Romancemas Day 11: Elf

On the 11th day of Romancemas, my true love gave to me: James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Ed Asner, and Will Ferrell in so much elfish green.

“How in the world is Elf a Christmas romantic comedy?” Yeah, that’s a question I expect to hear a lot. After all, it features Ferrell at the height of his manic comedic powers and losing his mind as the oversized elf Buddy on screen. Then there’s the trippy stop-motion sequence in the North Pole and the melee between Buddy and Peter Dinklage’s Miles Finch in a boardroom. It all feels like a fever dream after someone drinks spoiled milk and eats expired cookies, doesn’t it? However, there’s a sweet, understated romance at the core of this movie, and that’s why Elf more than merits its place in the 12 Days of Christmas Rom Coms.

Let’s start Elf!

Official day 11 attire: A Grinch-themed t-shirt and shorts because an African Christmas is unforgivingly hot.

After sneaking into Santa Claus’ sack on Christmas Eve, a baby ends up at the North Pole. Bob Newhart’s Papa Elf decides to raise the baby as his own, naming him Buddy because of the diaper brand he wears. Many years later – and largely because Buddy sucks as an elf – Papa Elf tells Buddy where he really comes from and reveals that his father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan), is living in New York City. And off Buddy goes to find his real Papa.

While the film centers on Buddy connecting with Walter, a subplot sees Buddy falling for a Gimbels department store worker named Jovie, played by Zooey Deschanel in the most Zooey Deschanel role of all time. Much like anyone working in retail, Jovie doesn’t feel the Christmas spirit and treats her job with the disdain it deserves, but she becomes enamored by Buddy’s energy and enthusiasm for the silly season. At first, she finds Buddy’s lack of boundaries a tad disturbing – especially when he sneaks into the women’s bathroom to hear her sing – but she soon realizes it comes from a place of childlike wonder rather than outright creepiness.

After Buddy accuses the store’s Santa of not being the real Santa, who is actually the late great Ed Asner here, he gets a restraining order slapped against him. However, thanks to Buddy’s brother Michael’s encouragement, Buddy finds the courage to ask Jovie out on a date later on. 

What’s clear about Elf‘s plot, though, is that Buddy and Jovie won’t be able to be together until Buddy and Walter sort out their relationship and the father accepts his son as an agent of Christmas joy. It takes a while but Walter and Buddy bond. Then disaster strikes after Santa’s sleigh crashes in Central Park, jeopardizing Christmas! Jovie, though, steps up, leading a crowd in finding their voice to power up the sleigh’s engine with Christmas spirit and saving the day. Hooray! Fast-forward to the next Christmas, Buddy and Jovie are married and have a little daughter named Susie.

Yeah, look, Buddy and Jovie move pretty fast here. They don’t waste time in getting hitched and having babies, but that’s the Hollywood love story model as no studio executive wants to confront the truth about the cost of a wedding and how impossible it is to raise a baby in this wretched modern economy. That said, this isn’t a traditional romance story where they toy with each other’s feelings and play the push-and-pull game found in other rom coms. In terms of Buddy and Jovie, what you see is what you get. They never hide their real selves from each other, which says something about the authenticity of their relationship. And what’s a better gift to receive on Christmas than someone who chooses to not sit on a throne of lies?