Well, I liked this one way better than Love Actually, that's for sure.

I know what this thing wants to be, it's very clearly aimed at children. It feels like a children's book brought to life and it is definitely filmed like it too. If done well, something like that can be charming and heartwarming, but this movie is neither of those things.

A lot of scenes feel like excuses to have Will Ferrel do what Will Ferrel does best, play a big child. Now, this fits his character well enough, but I got to wonder that during 30 years living at the North Pole, Santa or his wife didn't educate him thoroughly about how the world works outside of their magical Christmas land. Especially when Buddy decides to leave the safety of his home and venture somewhere he is very unfamiliar with. He doesn't know social cues, customs or how anything really works. The least he could do is give him some safety tips but he leaves it with some funny quips about peep shows and gum on the street being not for eating. (I gagged when he actually put some in his mouth from a filthy looking iron bar).

Buddy's supposed innocence gets really tiresome halfway through the movie. I mean, after a couple of days, wouldn't he realize that he needs to adapt to be able to be accepted in this world? Even after being beat up by a wonderfully great Peter Dinklage, he remains positive. He doesn't even wonder /why/ he was beat up or ask what he did was wrong. Instead he just accepts the beating and makes a quip about Peter Dinklage (he calls him an elf because he's small, har har) being a South Pole elf. Even if he grew up as an elf, he still has human emotions. I mean, even the elfs at the North Pole are mean to him, as he overhears a conversation that he's pretty useless in the shop. Words hurt more than physical violence, huh? In any case, watching Peter Dinklage kick Will Ferrel's ass was very satisfying.

The movie features a lot of movie tropes that are forgiveable, because it's aimed at movies and the rest of the actors are charming enough that it elevates the movie for me. It's not bad, but it's not good either.

Robert Egbert looks like he doesn't know what the hell is going on half of the time and the lines do not feel right to him at all. Zoey Deschanel is very charming, but doesn't add a lot more to the story besides being a love interest. James Caan pulls an incredible amount of patience from... somewhere. He must love his wife very much (a forgettable Mary Steenbruggen) because it's her that convinces him to let Buddy into his life. A selfless choice from her that's only there to have Buddy move in with the family and cause mayhem.

Not everything in this movie is annoying, I was pretty charmed with it. I loved the scene in the shop where he spends the entire night decorating the place. It shows that his background as living as an Elf is good for something in the real world, and feels like it's something that he can contribute to society over there. Despite that, there's not a lot going on that makes him a valuable character to society. That's not something he actively persues, not even if he wants to impress his dad. But at the end he ends up being a writer for a children's book that gets popular? There's not a single mention about him being interested in that anywhere. His father just took the story of his arrival and adventures in NYC and cashed it. Well done Dad.

Conclusion:
I didn't hate this, but I didn't love it either. It's a good attempt at making a child-friendly Christmas story, but the charm is partially ruined by Will Ferrel's man-child acting.