# Elf = Most over-hyped movie of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310 "2008-09-26T11:25:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/1 "2008-09-26T11:25:25Z")
Back when this was on cable I swear at one point it took over an entire channel. Elf, Elf, and- you guessed it- a special encore showing of Elf. Now like part Five of a slasher series, it’s back yet again, this time on constant Netflix popups. Has any movie in history ever had a higher ratio of promotion to worthiness? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/2 "2008-09-26T12:34:19Z")
**Joe Dirt**. It seems to turn up every week on Comedy Central. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/3 "2008-09-26T14:28:25Z")
To me, it’s **Titanic**. I know that a lot of people on this board really love the movie, but, christ, it’s utter crap to me. Now, it’s not so hyped, but anyone who’s 25 or over must remember the hype at the time… Elf is a pretty good movie. I think Will Ferrell is overhyped, period, regardless of the particular film. Joe ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/4 "2008-09-26T14:34:57Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Has any movie in history ever had a higher ratio of promotion to worthiness? [How soon they forget](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299930/) ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/5 "2008-09-26T14:58:49Z")
I love **Elf**. I think it’s one of Will Ferrell’s better movies, and I have serious Ferrell fatigue most of the time. Maybe it gets played on cable too much during the holidays, but that’s the case with a lot of Christmas movies. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/6 "2008-09-26T15:08:43Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Has any movie in history ever had a higher ratio of promotion to worthiness? I think both _Ishtar_ and _Waterworld_ could kick _Elf_’s ass at that competition. _The Fifth Element_ might deserve a mention, too - if only for its perpetual omnipresence on cable. (Not an irredeemable movie, but a spectacular disappointment.) ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/7 "2008-09-26T15:17:55Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > To me, it’s **Titanic**. I know that a lot of people on this board really love the movie, but, christ, it’s utter crap to me. Now, it’s not so hyped, but anyone who’s 25 or over must remember the hype at the time… > > Elf is a pretty good movie. I think Will Ferrell is overhyped, period, regardless of the particular film. > > Joe Totally agree about _Titanic_. Cameron did an excellent job with the sets, costumes, and special effects. He had $1.98 left over to pay a script writer and it shows! As to hype, maybe it’s just that I watch more tube than you, but it seems strong as ever to me. Every time some cable channel is about to run this dreck, the “Greatest Thing Since Jesus Christ”-type hype starts 3 weeks out. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/8 "2008-09-26T15:50:34Z")
**Snakes on a Plane**? And I liked **Snakes on a Plane**. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/9 "2008-09-26T16:05:12Z")
The only thing that I liked about _Elf_ was Zooey Deschanel’s singing. Or rather, that and her eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/10 "2008-09-26T16:32:56Z")
The American remake of _Godzilla_ has been consigned to the collective closet of “yeah, let’s pretend that never happened,” but while it was on the radar, it drowned out everything else for weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/11 "2008-09-26T16:40:13Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > I think both _Ishtar_ and _Waterworld_ could kick _Elf_’s ass at that competition. > > _The Fifth Element_ might deserve a mention, too - if only for its perpetual omnipresence on cable. (Not an irredeemable movie, but a spectacular disappointment.) :eek: Your libeling of The Fifth Element can be described only as madness. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/12 "2008-09-26T16:46:42Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > The only thing that I liked about _Elf_ was Zooey Deschanel’s singing. > > Or rather, that and her eyes. I fell in love with her that day. She’s one of the reasons I willingly sat through _Tin Man_. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/13 "2008-09-26T17:15:19Z")
Please. Nothing can compare to the Phantom Menace. I remember slathering over teasers at least a year before it was released. I think the collective trauma of seeing it has caused us all to remember just how incredibly excited we were to be there opening night. How young we all once were… ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/14 "2008-09-26T17:16:31Z")
Hey, I _LIKED_ ELF… …You _DO_ mean [Eight Legged Freaks](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0271367/), right? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/15 "2008-09-26T17:19:43Z")
I was in London one autumn. On the radio, in the newspapers was an endless parade of stars shilling for _Lost in Space,_ "the summer blockbuster from America. ---
**Author:** ![Punintentional](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punintentional](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punintentional)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/16 "2008-09-26T17:21:45Z")
Sorry guys, Titanic isn’t really on the same page as the rest of these films. It’s one of the most (if not, the most) highest grossing films of all times. Now that doesn’t make it a good movie, but lots of hype about a movie that isn’t good that doesn’t make a lot of money is “over hype”. When you “hype” a movie that way and it makes lots of money, well, job well done. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/17 "2008-09-26T18:21:09Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > I love **Elf**. I think it’s one of Will Ferrell’s better movies, and I have serious Ferrell fatigue most of the time. > > Maybe it gets played on cable too much during the holidays, but that’s the case with a lot of Christmas movies. I enjoyed Elf and feel it is one of the better modern-day Christmas movies. It is rare that they come out with one that I enjoy anymore. I’m not a Ferrell fan, but this one was OK. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/18 "2008-09-26T19:30:55Z")
What IS Giglie about, anyway? Every time it’s mentioned, I think “jiggly.” I know it was hyped to death and I know it’s terrible. And that’s it. Why is it bad and what’s it about. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/19 "2008-09-26T22:17:45Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > I fell in love with her that day. She’s one of the reasons I willingly sat through _Tin Man_. Me too!!! I even own Tin Man. Whenever I try to remember what movie Elf is, I wonder if it is the Christmas movie with Zooey. Someone else was in that movie? Really? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310/20 "2008-09-26T22:51:55Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > The only thing that I liked about _Elf_ was Zooey Deschanel’s singing. > > Or rather, that and her eyes. [A great scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9re6CQZGFw) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-most-over-hyped-movie-of-all-time/465310.md?page=2)