With the holiday season in full swing, people are watching their favorite Christmas classics, like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street, Die Hard, and others. A more recent classic is Elf, the unexpected 2003 hit film starring Will Ferrell and directed by Jon Favreau. It's a highly quotable movie and full of fun and memorable scenes. One was supposed to be a quick, one-liner moment that ended up becoming a fan favorite. But Favreau had to fight to keep the scene in after the producers wanted to cut it.
The scene in question is when Buddy Elf (Ferrell) is sent to the mailroom by his biological father, Walter (played memorably by James Caan) to essentially get out of the way. While there, Buddy meets the way-older-than-he-looks "Mailroom Guy," played by character actor Mark Acheson. The moment between Buddy and Mailroom Guy was supposed to be short, but it grew into a hilarious, chaotic moment. Acheson explained to People that he had just one line, "work release," and that was it.
I called my agent, and he said, "Listen, they would like you to come and do one line with Will Ferrell. Would you like to do it?" And I said, yeah, I'd be happy to do that. I was only supposed to say "work release" and that was the end of it. [It was] the weirdest day I could possibly imagine.
Favreau and his cast are known to improvise on his movies, and Elf was one such case. The director had Ferrell and Acheson improvise and the moment became a hilarious scene of Buddy and Mailroom Guy drinking syrup in coffee, but in reality, whiskey. They're drunk, dancing on the mail sorting table, and having a blast. And it delivered one of the funniest lines in the movie.
The 'Elf' Quote That's Gone Viral 20 Years Later Close
After their drunken shenanigans, Buddy and Mailroom Guy are lying in two mail carts. Mailroom Guy then says, "I'm 26 years old and I've got nothing to show for it." To which Buddy replies, "You're young. You're so young." But the line and scene almost got the ax by producers, according to Acheson, who was 46 at the time and was part of the gag. "An older 46. Because I never looked young in my life."
Jon Favreau fought for it. He said, "That's the joke, that's the funny part, right?" He kept me in, but [the producers] didn't want me, but he did, and thank God for me, because it changed my career quite a bit.
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It's a hilarious and classic moment in Elf that almost ended up on the cutting room floor until Favreau stepped in. And this was before he became one of the biggest directors in Hollywood thanks to Iron Man, which opened five years later. The quote went viral during Christmas 2023, when fans noticed just how old Mailroom Guy looked compared to being only "26 years old." One fan quipped, "I can believe in an Elf from the North Pole. But no way in hell do I believe the guy on the left is 26. One of the biggest lies in movie history."
Elf is streaming now on Hulu, Max, and other platforms.
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Elf PG FamilyComedyFantasy Release Date October 9, 2003 Runtime 97 minutes Cast Will Ferrell , James Caan , Bob Newhart , Ed Asner , Mary Steenburgen , Zooey Deschanel , Daniel Tay , Faizon Love , Peter Dinklage , Amy Sedaris , Michael Lerner , Andy Richter , Kyle Gass , Artie Lange , Leon Redbone , Ray Harryhausen , Claire Lautier , Ted Friend , Patrick Ferrell , Patrick McCartney , Jon Favreau , Lydia Lawson-Baird , Brenda McDonald , Annie Brebner Expand