Lazy Movie Weekend: Smiling is my favorite

Every family has their own unique holiday traditions. Maybe you ride out to the middle of nowhere to cut down a Christmas tree (please make sure you shake it really well before bringing it into the house to remove all the bugs that are living in the tree). Baking is a great holiday tradition - I love holiday baking! Maybe you're the kind of family who wears matching pajamas on Christmas morning or matching sweaters on Christmas day. I don't know your life, but I know that holiday traditions are important.
My family has Christmas traditions that span the mundane (we always have banana bread and citrus salad with maraschino cherries for breakfast on Christmas morning) to the exhausting (how many White House ornaments is too many White House ornaments?). We do a lot of baking, from cutout cookies that look like the Blues Brothers to incredibly involved holiday cakes. My dad always puts a toothbrush in our stockings (yes, I'm 39 and still get a stocking). We've never been traditional Christmas dinner people; we like to rotate countries for spice. If I had to pick my favorite holiday tradition, it would have to be our annual Christmas movie marathons. We've been doing this for years now, and it does not get old. I can watch these movies over and over again and never tire of them. As I've shared before, we keep to the classics for the most part, but typically add a new movie every now and then.

One of the best adds to the marathon also happens to be one of my favorite holiday movies, 2003's Elf. I consider it a grand accomplishment I was able to convince my brother, who doesn't like Will Ferrell, to add Elf to our rotation. He couldn't ignore the genius that is the movie. What is it about a giant man-elf that is so endearing and hilarious? Grab one of your favorite of the four food groups (candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup), and let's explore the magic of Elf.

1. Bob Newhart as Papa Elf, our narrator! Newhart is a national treasure. I'll fight anyone who disagrees. 
2. Ed Asner is the only person who should play Santa. It's like he was designed to play Santa. I think he's even been in a Hallmark movie as a meddling Santa. I love him. 
3. There are a ton of classic holiday movie references sprinkled throughout the movie, including the nod to stop-motion animation like that found in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I love the puffin and other fun animal friends; they should be in the movie more.
4. A question I've always had about this movie: did the orphanage look for Buddy? Did Santa let them know Buddy was at the North Pole? I mean, Papa Elf has a picture of Buddy's dad and seems to know a lot about him, so that makes me think Santa and the orphanage were in touch. Or they are the worst orphanage. 
5. Of course Papa Elf is in charge of Santa's sleigh. And of course, it used to run on holiday cheer. It make sense that the move to the turbine age had to happen; holiday cheer is hard to come by these days.
6. Y'all it's Ralphie! Yes, Ming-Ming is none other than Peter Billingsely, from the best Christmas movie of all time, A Christmas Story. "We all have special talents" is one of those quotes I think of when I spout off random movie trivia to people or explain the history of the historical markers of Virginia to my boss; we all have special talents. 
7. Shocker - Buddy is not an elf. No one saw this coming at all. 
8. Please enjoy this video of Leon Redbone (Leon the Snowman) singing "Frosty the Snowman" with Dr. John. 
9. Poor Buddy has to find out he's a human and that his human father is on the naughty list all at the same time. It's too much. 
10. "Does someone need a hug?" - step away from the trash panda, Buddy.
11. Apparently, several minor car accidents occurred while filming Buddy in the Lincoln Tunnel. I guess no one expects Will Farrell dressed as an elf in the Lincoln Tunnel.
12. Most of the scenes of Buddy experiencing New York for the first time were filmed with just Ferrell and director Jon Favreau paying people on the street to be in random scenes with Buddy.
13. The Empire State Building elevator scene! I used to do an exercise with new hires about elevator pitches and I'd always make a joke about Buddy. I told this joke to over 200 new people; I'm pretty sure only three of them laughed.
14.  Amy Sedaris! Another national treasure - she should be in every movie.
15. "What's a Christmas-gram?! I want one!" Buddy is one of the most quotable elves ever. 
16. James Caan as Buddy's dad could not be more perfect casting. It's awkward and odd and hilarious. Come for Will Ferrell, stay for James Caan.
17. "I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite." Buddy somehow becomes a department store elf. Which leads to meeting Zoey Deschanel's Jovie, the manic pixie girl of this movie, a joke about The Santaland Diaries ("Did Crumpet put you up to this?"), and the most magical department store North Pole ever created. The Lite Brite welcome sign is my favorite.
18. James Caan's other son does a spot on impression of Caan. Michael is the best.
19. Buddy and Jovie sing "Baby, It's Cold Outside." The worst part of this scene is not the song (which is a little rape-y, but not that controversial), but that Buddy is randomly in the women's bathroom. 
20. Artie Lang as the Gimbel's Santa is so many shades of wrong, I don't know where to start. "You sit on a throne of lies!" "You smell like beef and cheese. You don't smell like Santa." The fight sequence was filmed in one take because it would take too long to rebuild the North Pole.
21. I'm pretty sure that paternity tests don't work the way they work in this movie. Can you get the results in an hour? That's not how this works. 
22. Also, where did Buddy's pajamas come from?
23. Buddy's breakfast - Ferrell really did eat that mess of sweet awfulness. He got sick on the first take and had to do it again.
24. Epic snowball fight! This snowball fight puts all Hallmark movie snowball fights to shame.
25. Buddy gets a date! And cuts down a tree in Central Park. Successful day.
26. Who knew the mail room could be so much fun?! "Syrup in coffee!" 
27. The cast keeps getting better: Andy Ritcher, Kyle from Tenacious D, Peter Dinklage. So much goodness in less than two hours. 
28. Buddy can't help himself upon meeting Dinklage's children's author character, Miles Finch. He calls Finch and elf which causes a fight and prompts Buddy to run away.
29. Are the Central Park Rangers a real thing? I feel like they should be. Santa crashes in the park, and it's up to Buddy and his family to help save the day.
30. Thankfully, Jovie shows up (just in time) to sing because as we all know, "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."  Everyone starts to sing, the Claus-O-Meter goes off the charts and holiday cheer propels Santa on his way. It's like a Hallmark movie but with more cursing, kissing, and elf culture.

Christmas may not be my favorite holiday, but I love it a bit more once I watch Elf. 

Elf meme

What will the rest of December bring? Glitter purses and planning for my 40th year on Earth. It's going to be an exciting month!