Love Actually writer and director Richard Curtis believes that Will Ferrell's performance in 2003's Elf was Oscar worthy. Since its release, Elf has quickly become a classic Christmas movie in nearly every household. The film tells the story of Buddy (Ferrell), a human raised by Santa's Elves in the North Pole who sets out on a journey to New York City to find his biological father. Along with Ferrell, the film also stars James Caan and Zooey Deschanel, and is helmed by Jon Favreau, which some may find surprising if they are only familiar with Favreau from his work on films like Iron Man and television series such as The Mandalorian.
As the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony approaches, many big names in the industry have been looking back over on previous Oscar years and speculating on what the iconic awards show has done right and done wrong over the years. This, of course, has been somewhat spurred on by this year's controversy in which the Academy has decided to pre-tape eight categories before the official ceremony in order to make the Academy Awards more manageable for its audience. This has started a huge conversation about aspects of filmmaking which go under-appreciated, and has caused many to point out other areas which also seem to go unnoticed by the Academy.
In a recent interview with BBC, director Curtis has pointed out that the comedy genre is also somewhat of a blindspot when it comes to Oscar nominations. Curtis has stated that he believes that "it's a real issue that comedy isn't respected as much." As a member of the Academy, Curtis can vote for the nominees he believes should win the Oscar. However, nominations are decided by peers of the same profession, so as a writer and director, he has no say in which actors are nominated. Due to this, Curtis has stated that it makes him feel "antsy about the fact that Will Ferrell didn't get nominated for Elf." Curtis has said that he would have voted for Ferrell if he was nominated, but sadly he was not given the chance. See his full quote below:
"I always get very antsy about the fact that Will Ferrell didn't get nominated for Elf. Or that Peter Sellers didn't get nominated for Inspector Clouseau. But it's the price you pay, as it were. Comedies tend to make a bit of money, and then you don't get the prizes."
This isn't to say, of course, that comedies are never nominated for Academy Awards, however, the ones that are, often have a heavy element of drama added in as well. This year, the only comedy which is nominated for Best Picture is Adam McKay's Don't Look Up, which centers on the human race's collective disinterest that their existence is likely to be completely wiped out by a comet's impending impact with Earth. While it is a comedy, it certainly does not bring with it the delightful tone that Elf radiates, however, as Curtis points out, this does not mean that Ferrell does not give a completely genuine performance as everyone's favorite human-elf.
Perhaps in the future comedies will be more appreciated at the Academy Awards. Change is already being seen in how the Oscars look at which movies are recognized with the addition of the Fan-Favorite Oscar, in which moviegoers vote for their favorite film to be honored. This could indicate that the Oscars are moving away from their typical nominations of only the most emotional dramas. Only time will tell, however, there is no doubt that Oscar nomination or no, Elf is standing the test of time which could perhaps be considered more of an award than any Oscar.
Source: BBC
