***image1***They're not just for Grandma.
ELF
PG, 95 min.
Will Ferrell is Buddy, a 6-foot-tall Santa's helper on a mission to New York to find his real dad. Armed with the wisdom of the sage Claus ("If you see gum on the street, leave it there; it's not free candy"), Buddy faces maniacal department store managers and really mean midgets on a quest to get his father (James Caan) off the "naughty list." Naive and with a penchant for hugging, the giddy elf has a rough time in the Big Apple. But with his vicious snowball-throwing arm and a lot of Christmas spirit, no job is unthinkable. Zooey Deschanel stars as Ferrell's crooning love interest in one of the funniest holiday films of all time. With Bob Newhart as Buddy's elfin father.
THE BIRDCAGE
R, 117 min.
Robin Williams, Nathan Lane and director Mike Nichols in Miami-need we say more? When the son of a gay club owner (Williams) decides to marry the daughter of a senator, everyone goes a bit loopy. This fabulous English redux of the French success
La Cage aux folles
is, in a word, hilarious, featuring excellent performances by a host of talented actors and a drag show that will knock your pink socks off. Don't be fooled, though; underneath the big laughs lie some poignant messages about culture and politics.
MYSTERY MEN
PG-13, 121 min.
Wacky, wild and righteous are the would-be superheroes of Champion City. They may not be extraordinary themselves, but they are friends with Captain Amazing, a washed-up superhero with no evil nemesis who plays ball with every corporate label in the land. The Mystery Men are normal Joes with special skills (be they bowling, throwing spoons or shovelmanship), and they're not afraid to get in the way of a bad guy, if they could only find one. With Hank Azaria, Ben Stiller, William H Macy, Geoffrey Rush, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Kinnear and Tom Waits.
