[x]

I despise Elf. The movie is poorly written, poorly acted, and poorly directed. And it's also beloved my millions. This explains why it's #1 over movies like Santa's Slay and Santa Claus (1959); it's inescapable. Why some people love Elf is beyond me. The silly one-liners are delivered with the usual ham-handed intensity that Will Ferrell calls acting. The sight gags and pratfalls are the sort that fourteen-year-old boys dream up. And to add insult to injury, Ed Asner plays Santa Claus. The most unjovial man in the world playing Santa Claus is too much to forgive. Besides, the final scene is what would happen if the worst producers at Hallmark had a bigger budget.

All true. But if you get in early enough, you can create a Christmas tradition. "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" was awful, but it's part of the canon now.

And if an actor's a big enough idiot -- like Will Ferrell is -- people will respond. Part of the appeal is laughing at just how much of an moron Will or the character he hides behind is.

And there's a very steep slope between good and bad Christmas movies. You can get a queasy feeling watching some that aren't as bad as Elf -- Jingle All the Way, Deck the Halls, Bad Santa, Fred Claus, Surviving Christmas.

The 20 Worst Christmas Movies of All Time

[Reily]

If I take three Will Ferrell movies two are awful & one is reasonably funny. A great comedic movie I can watch & watch, for example Will Ferrell’s “Talladega Nights” once was enough. It was funny once.