Zooey Deschanel

In the hands of Will Ferrell, Elf beats a hackneyed script into submission and cajoles smiles and chuckles from obvious material.

Audiences can be grateful for the unique absurdist dimensions and freewheeling irreverence of Adams, which place the film in its own category of science-fiction comedy.

Paula's practiced fraud sounds criminal at worst and grounds for civil suits at best, but to Hollywood, it's a romantic comedy....downright repellent.

What's black and white and brings in the green?

It's engrossing one minute and stupefying the next, off and on, off and on, for ninety minutes.

[The] writers...pay lip service to the dark side of 'yes,' but don’t do enough to explore what could have made the film more than a bouncy entertainment

The playful Generation Y story (500) Days of Summer goes against the grain by wisely substituting delusion for deception. Boy meets girl. Boy thinks he understands girl. Boy oh boy.

Ultimately, the magic-and-monsters milieu isn’t enough when the jokes are half-baked.

Unmistakably Little Miss Sunshine-y...a sunny sitcom of family dysfunction...