Elf is a good movie, but not a great film. It is funny, it has heart, a sweet romance, but it completely falls apart because David Berenbaum (the film's writer) didn't know how to end the film. Elf's story centers around Buddy trying to reconnect with his father, Walter Hobbs. It's the entire crux of the film. And everything reaches its peak when Buddy embarrasses Miles Finch and then his father berates him. Then, rather than putting this conflict and its resolution front and center for the final act of the film, Walter suddenly changes on a whim because his younger son tells him Buddy has gone missing. Then, with the main conflict already resolved with a good 20-25 minutes left in the film, there is no conflict. So, the writer shoehorns in a new one about Santa's sleigh not having enough juice to fly around the world and the Central Park Rangers trying to hunt him down. What is the new climax? New Yorkers and Walter Hobbs singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" to resurrect Santa's sleigh.



No real moment between Buddy and Walter. No sacrifice to mend the relationship or moment of true penitence. Just joining in and singing a song. It's a terrible waste of a good hour of the film. If the writer and director had stuck that final act with something better, Elf could definitely be an all time great.