It's not trying to be anything more than a cute, fun holiday card to the Big Apple, and it works.
The haters just seem a tad bitter in this thread.
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
Saw Elf on Tuesday, very cute and fun, but thought it was at its best when they were doing new material that wasn't in the movie. I had a very hard time not comparing the other stuff to the movie.
I saw the show this past Sunday and enjoyed myself a good bit. I've never seen the movie and didn't even know much about the story going in so I really had no expectations, but I found myself smiling the whole time (and that says something, because I'm not the biggest fan of the Christmas holiday/season to begin with). As others have said, it's not trying to be anything it's not: it's a fun, fluffy, entertaining holiday show and, despite its flaws, it delivers a fun afternoon. Definitely worth the $42 I paid to see it.