It's Nov. 12, which must mean it's time to get ready for Christmas! (We just go straight from Halloween to Christmas nowadays, with Thanksgiving this quaint but less-decorated holiday sometime in between).

After seeing the first trailer for Elf last summer, I was steadfast in my determination not to see the movie. The preview focused on Will Ferrell being an idiot and showed little but pratfalls, and I wasn't interested.

Then, something happened. EVERY review was overwhelmingly positive, and my heart grew two sizes that day. I discovered that I had to see Elf. I'm glad I did, which is important since Santa knows if I've been bad or good, so I better be good for goodness' sake, and kissing up to the jolly guy can't hurt.

The movie gets off to a great start, Bob Newhart (Papa Elf) setting us up for how Ferrell becomes the first human raised among elves, as the Keebler's tree burns, gnomes get drunk and trolls poop everywhere. And yes, that sets you up in the right mood for this comedy.

Your basic fish-out-of-water tale, or, in this case, an elf-out-of-the-North-Pole story, Ferrell figures out he's human and sets off for the "magical place" that is New York City to find his real Dad. Problem is, he's such a big kid, everyone else thinks his bough is missing some holly, if you know what I mean.

Despite the glut of silliness, the characters are so genuine and the story so sweet, you can't help but love everything going on, laugh almost continually, and gut-bustingly hard.

God blesses the naive, as Ferrell's only talents include making Christmas decorations, toys and snowball fighting. That, and making every situation brighter. Zooey Deschanel (The Good Girl, Almost Famous) is the love interest, adorable but dry. Of course, it's not that I wouldn't mind walking in to a room where she's standing under mistletoe and smiling at me.

Ferrell's biological father turns out to be tough guy James Caan, who is on the Naughty List. Shriek! Naturally, though, he's got a heart of gold, planted there by wife Mary Steenburgen, the sympathetic one.

I've shrugged off Ferrell much of the time, because his sketch comedy was over-the-top stupidity. But on the big screen, like Old School and now Elf, he's more likable in "restrained" stupidity. I'm not the biggest fan of physical humor, but even that works fine here, too, but thankfully there are many more laughs elsewhere.

The climax was an immensely nonsensical fruitcake, yet I'm such a holiday-loving-romantic, I was very, very (thisclose) to tearing up and bawling. It's as if the whole theater was singing carols, surrounded by tinsel, hanging their stockings up front next to a big, bright fake tree in the corner.

Ferrell's sugarplum of a movie is a sincere holiday treat, so make a list, check it twice, and see Elf, no matter if you're naughty or nice.