Open Forum Friday: Is Will Ferrell Still Funny?
With Will Ferrell’s latest movie Semi-Pro hitting theatres this weekend, a little bit of reflection on his career seems to be in order. He’s undoubtedly among the upper echelon of former Saturday Night Live actors who have graduated to film, and has quickly become one of the most successful comedic actors working today. At this point he has notched a few pretty huge blockbusters on his belt including Elf, Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory, all of which made over $100 million. He also became an internet sensation last year with the viral video “The Landlord”.
But more and more as time goes on, we are starting to see a Will Ferrell backlash brewing. People are complaining that his whole “man child” schtick is tired and played out, and the formulaic sports comedies that he has been starring in are now a dime a dozen. Semi-Pro is getting hammered by critics (currently at 25% on Rotten Tomatoes), and public opinion seems mixed. Has his career already peaked?
I will admit that I thought Blades of Glory looked terrible and yet I ended up laughing a heck of a lot more than I thought I would. As a result, I will give Semi-Pro the benefit of the doubt. Ferrell has also been taking on a few somewhat higher brow projects lately such as Woody Allen’s Melinda and Melinda and Marc Forster’s Stranger Than Fiction. I personally would not count him out just yet, but I am curious to hear what everyone else thinks. Are you still excited about new Will Ferrell projects, or do you think he has become overexposed? Is his career on its way downhill? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.
Comments (19)
I think his career will go in the same direction as Jim Carrey, even if some of his movies aren’t that great, if u can get a few laughs thats fine by me.
Can’t see why there would be a backlash though, what else is out there? if it wasn’t for the Frat pack comedians & their humour & movies i wouldn’t even bother watch most comedies out nowadays.
Posted by Nemesis on February 29th, 2008Wil Ferrel was never funny to begin with when it came to the big screen. As a SNL skit comedy actor….yeah, he was hilarious. So I guess, he’s best in small doses.
Posted by Baychuk on February 29th, 2008it drives me nuts the way people chew up and spit out comedians as if they were never funny in the first place… then they disappear for a long time and get old and all of a sudden they’re ‘hot’ again…
you can make your own list easily.
Posted by Goon on February 29th, 2008Agreed, Goon. The problem with Will Ferrell isn’t that he isn’t funny anymore, he’s just in the same kind of movie/role over and over again. He’s still just as funny an actor, but maybe movie-wise he should consider a bit of quality control. Although on that note, if you read the A.V. Club’s interview with him this week he says he turned down like $28 million to do Elf 2, which I find kind of reassuring – he’s looking to pick roles at least according to what appeals to him as an actor.
Posted by Cous on February 29th, 2008I still think Will Ferrell is funny, but I am getting tired of seeing him play the same roll over and over again. Sports comedies have never exactly been one of my favorite sub-genres either, so I’m sure that’s got a lot to do with my disinterest in him lately. He started off his career really well with SNL, proving that he can play all kinds of different funny roles, and hit now seems like he has reverted to only being able to pull off the loud, oblivious guy part. I’ve got nothing against the guy, I’m just waiting for something a little more worthwhile before I jump on his bandwagon again.
Posted by Rian on February 29th, 2008Will is a very talented actor and has done some decent work and dare I say, he has even been funny in some roles. But this continual repeat of the same kind of crap is doing him no favours. Sack your agent Will and find some interesting roles!!!
Posted by Jim on February 29th, 2008I agree with those who’ve said that his biggest problem is playing the same roles over and over. I thought he was absolutely fantastic in Stranger Than Fiction and I think as long as he keeps making alternative choices like that to balance out the man-boy movies, he’ll be okay.
Posted by Liz on February 29th, 2008If you want funny, watch the Will Ferrell/Jim Carrey sketch ‘Lifeguard on duty’. That’s classic shit. I haven’t seen that many of Will Ferrels movies because most of them look like shit, and my disposable income isn’t that great, but I do think that anchorman ruled.
Posted by Henrik on February 29th, 2008on the other hand though, what advice do you really give someone like Will Ferrell?
I mean, he does do some smaller films already, which people dont seem to notice even exist… so does Jack Black – how many of his fans saw or care that he did “Margot at the Wedding”? They just say they’re sick of him whenever something new comes along…
Posted by Goon on February 29th, 2008What can you really say to Will Ferrell – “get yourself stunt casted in a Spike Jonze or PT Anderson movie” – “do full on drama”?
Well I guess one possibility is for him to lay low for a while, kind of like Mike Myers did. He could just take a break from big blockbusters for a year or two, and stay away from the viral videos that are constantly keeping him in the spotlight and spreading him so thin. It’s not like he needs the money. The thing is, I’m assuming he’s passionate about his work, in which case a long hiatus would suck. And then when you come back, you’re out of touch and washed up, just like Mike Myers.
Posted by Sean on February 29th, 2008I don’t know if I was anticipating or dreading a Will Farrell starring CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES. Ambitious and famous material to tackle, but it’d never make the kind of money Semi-Pro or Blades of Glory will see. It’s probably end up straight to DVD like the adaptation of Vonnegut’s BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS.
Posted by kurt on February 29th, 2008I agree with the idea that Wil should take on better roles. As it stands he’s about the equivalent of a “big kid” in a lot his movies, which is tedious.
Posted by Baychuk on March 1st, 2008I’m still excited whenever Will Ferrell coughs up a movie, but as many here, I would like more diversity in his choices of roles. In flicks like “Old School”, he had somewhat of a side-line role which made his presence on the screen that much more efficient.
Albeit he wasn’t at the popularity level he is now, it seems like roles like this one would serve him good by keeping him out of the comedy sole spotlight while still giving him the opportunities to do what he loves. He’s now heading towards a similar path as Adam Sandler’s. Thing is, nobody complains on Sandler while he coughs up straight-up shit comedies (only reason I watch his comedies is for Rob Schneider)…
I’ve seen the atrocious critics fr “Semi-Pro” but they’re the same critics who gave “Be Kind, Rewind” 2.5/4. And although I don’t have any expectations except for a good laughs/scene ratio, I’m still gonna give it chance. Why? Because it’s fuckin’ WILL FERRELL, that’s why!
Posted by Julien on March 1st, 2008Personally, I was incredibly disappointed with Anchorman and ever since then it’s been downhill….. though I thought he was pretty good in Stranger Than Fiction. So, yeah…. I’d second the less “manchild” recommendation.
Posted by Derek on March 1st, 2008Anchorman….ugh! So unfunny. Actually I did laugh in one scene where he was falling in love or something.
Posted by Baychuk on March 1st, 2008I think Will Ferrell is still funny. Not as funny as his SNL days, but he can still make me laugh. It seems like quite a few of you guys are putting him up on a pedestal. Saying he should do this and do that is a bit redundant.
For me, I think he has been able to do everything he has been able to do so far. I don’t really compare him to Sandler/Carrey yet because Ferrell isn’t trying to be a dramatic actor yet, but he could be our generation’s Bill Murray if he maintains the his integrity of his choice of work. Maybe I am also putting him on a pedestal too, heh.
Posted by Primal on March 1st, 2008NOT FUNNY.
Posted by scoville on March 1st, 2008It’s an interesting question.
Will Ferrell knows comedy and is a comedic genius. If something was funny once, it’s still funny. The rules of comedy don’t really change.
If you showed “Semi-Pro” to someone who had never heard of Will Ferrell before, I would be willing to bet they’d laugh harder at it than the rest of us who have seen him saturated in the comedy spotlight for 10+ years (provided they have a sense of humor intact before viewing).
The problem, then, is diminishing returns. People can get tired of hearing the same joke. So Will Ferrell does need to mix up the shtick, pick a different character or approach so we are surprised by him again.
Posted by Brett on March 3rd, 2008Hey everyone,
Been reading the forum for a while just wanted to introduce myself – what’s up?
Posted by RonnieLRQ on May 7th, 2008Leave a Reply