Elf is that rare Christmas comedy that’s well-rounded, funny, and engagingly meaningful as it follows its titular character Buddy (Will Ferrell) when he discovers his true human identity. As a baby in an orphanage, he crawls into Santa’s (Edward Asner) toy bag on Christmas Eve, forcing Santa to raise Buddy in the North Pole. After 30ish years of being raised by his adoptive father Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), Buddy learns his biological dad, Walter Hobbs (James Caan), is still alive and an executive in a failing New York City-based children’s book publishing company. Upon entering the packed streets of gummed subway railings and standoffish citizens, Buddy meets his father and his somewhat estranged immediate family—his wife, Emily Hobbs (Mary Steenburgen), and son, Michael (Daniel Tay). In his stumbles across NYC, he also meets a new friend in Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), a retail store worker. With his butting optimism, persistent cheerfulness, and irresistibly naive charm, Buddy has to grow his relationship with his father, mend the rest of the family’s relationships, find love. acclimate to human living, and save Christmas—before all his worlds come crashing down.

Elf uses a mix of improvised tomfoolery, goodness for goodness’ sake, and human imperfection to achieve wondrous results. Will Ferrell is perfectly cast as Buddy, as he summons the adolescent gleefulness required for the role. In big American cities like New York, joy and community oriented spaces and populations are not expected; Boston has its obscene sports scene, NYC its subway crowd, LA its snobby film crowd. Empathy, happiness and compassion are usually shunned or at least unacknowledged, as they’re not qualities deemed to help lead successful lives. Buddy’s naivety in NYC, contrasted also with North Pole living, exemplifies all that’s wrong with this picture. Straightforward happiness may be harder to achieve with real life’s nuances, but perspective plays a large hand in that.

Moments like this litter the film, but Buddy’s big first meet with Walter starts with him singing to his dad: “I’m here, with my dad, and we never met, and he wants me to sing him a song! And I was adopted, but you didn’t know I was born. So I’m here now! Daddy! And guess what, I love you! I love you! I LOVE YOU!” While embarrassing for most, this humiliating singing is what Buddy’s used to: singing about life’s joys, especially to those you love. He’s raised to do so in the North Pole, as seen by the dozens of elves singing along whilst making toys towards Elf’s start. He’s not trying to guilt trip his father and nor is he aware of how stupid he looks; he’s merely expressing joy and love in the best way he knows how. People are screwed up—all of us—and Buddy knows the remedy. Whether that be to sing your heart out, compliment one’s ear off or simply be present, Buddy exemplifies throughout that persistent positivity, genuine consideration, and unmitigated understanding bolsters healthier living all around. Throw that on top of a snowy red-green city backdrop, complicated family dynamics, unexpected love and real-world filming and reactions, and Elf makes itself an amusingly bubbly time. For Christmas fans, Will Ferrell fans and comedy fans alike, Elf has a lot to offer, even if a few jokes melt away and the occasional skip over important context arises.

Screens Tuesday, 12/10, 7:00 pm @ Landmark Kendall Square Cinema
Part of the ongoing repertory series: Retro Replays: Christmas Classics