Compared to Rick Groen’s review, Stephen Hunter at The Washington Post was downright unkind, writing, “It’s a clumsy, tedious ride that wears out its welcome as it wears out the seat of your pants and the circulation in your lower limbs.” At the Denver Post, Michael Booth expressed a similar sentiment: “Leaves a sour taste in the mouth and a Grinch-like resolve to sue the manufacturer.”
Mark Kermode, writing for The Observer, made a strong decision about the effort from Will Ferrell and director Jon Favreau: “The result is a turkey.” At the Chicago Reader, critic J.R. Jones felt the same way, writing, “The film soon bogs down in fake hugs and a fakier climax involving Santa (Ed Asner) and his downed sled.” Meanwhile, at MovieFreak.com, Sara Michelle Fetters was largely unimpressed, saying, “Well, the gloves are off this time around, for no matter how many different ways you look at it, former ‘Saturday Night Live’ funnyman Will Ferrell’s Christmas comedy ‘Elf’ is a big lump of Yule tide coal.”
