Will Ferrell is fool!

I'm not the hugest Will Ferrel fan. He does a great Bush, and some of his SNL skits are classic, but as a film actor I don't think he's ever given a completely credible performance. He has the same problem most SNL performers turned actors have, they are always trying to find the shtick in a scene, instead of making the scene real and letting the situation be funny. They have to flail about and make noise. I have the same issue with Eastbound and Down. I don't buy the lead character. He's not emotionally real to me. He's just an actor trying to act like the biggest jerk possible and I can't get invested.
 
Batutta said:
I'm not the hugest Will Ferrel fan. He does a great Bush, and some of his SNL skits are classic, but as a film actor I don't think he's ever given a completely credible performance.
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Disagree. He's great in Stranger than Fiction and he has this great moment in Old School at the funeral with his ex-wife.
 
I'm not the hugest Will Ferrel fan. He does a great Bush, and some of his SNL skits are classic, but as a film actor I don't think he's ever given a completely credible performance. He has the same problem most SNL performers turned actors have, they are always trying to find the shtick in a scene, instead of making the scene real and letting the situation be funny. They have to flail about and make noise. I have the same issue with Eastbound and Down. I don't buy the lead character. He's not emotionally real to me. He's just an actor trying to act like the biggest jerk possible and I can't get invested.
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He was pretty good in Stranger Than Fiction.

My favourite will Ferrell performance is his cameo in Wedding Crashers as Chazz Rhienhold....."Grief is nature's most powerful aphrodisiac. " "Just living the dream".
 
Batutta said:
I'm not the hugest Will Ferrel fan. He does a great Bush, and some of his SNL skits are classic, but as a film actor I don't think he's ever given a completely credible performance. He has the same problem most SNL performers turned actors have, they are always trying to find the shtick in a scene, instead of making the scene real and letting the situation be funny. They have to flail about and make noise. I have the same issue with Eastbound and Down. I don't buy the lead character. He's not emotionally real to me. He's just an actor trying to act like the biggest jerk possible and I can't get invested.
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I have to agree.
Very good point on the SNL cast too.

You cannot [IMO] turn 10 mintute skits into movies. Mike Myers as Austin Powers being the exeception.

He [Will] is funny in bits and pieces but to carry a movie as the lead... Not so much.
 
He [Will] is funny in bits and pieces but to carry a movie as the lead... Not so much.
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Mugatu, Frank the Tank, Buddy, Ron Burgandy, Chazz Rheinhold , Big Earl and Ricky Bobby are fantastic characters, he's hilarious in all of those roles and even just recently as Ashley Schaeffer in East Bound & Down "Whew!"Will Ferrell rocks, Anchorman is one of the best comedies this decade.
 
Isaac_Brody said:
Disagree. He's great in Stranger than Fiction and he has this great moment in Old School at the funeral with his ex-wife.
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To each his own. He was ok in Stranger than Fiction, definitely his most real performance but nothing impressive...I'm pretty tough on actors when it comes to this. For example, I don't think Will Smith ever gave a real performance until The Pursuit of Happyness. Up until then he mostly traded on his star persona, with the possible exception of Ali where he had the unfortunate task of measuring up to the most charismatic personality of the 20th century and fell short, as anyone would...Don't get me wrong. I can watch an Anchorman and get a few good laughs out of it. I'm not saying he's unfunny, but a great actor I would not call him. He doesn't measure up to a Peter Sellers or a Gene Wilder, or even Steve Martin, IMHO. Another thing about Will Ferrell and many comedians of his generation, like Mike Myers, Sarah Silverman and Ben Stiller, is that there is a detached sheen of insincerity about everything they do. They are always standing outside of the material, winking at the audience, self-aware. This can work for short comedy skits or stand up but in a movie you need actors to fully commit to the reality of the situation, otherwise you'll end up with a film with a bunch of funny gags but no real depth or emotional impact.
 
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To me, Ferrell will always be a great side character. Never one to carry a movie but someone that adds to it as a supporting role. His best roles to me are always the side roles like in Zoolander.
 
Will Ferrell is a funny actor, but he has his moments. Carrying out an hour plus monologue as Bush really proves he has talent. I haven't seen all his movies, like I haven't seen Anchorman yet, and I have mixed reviews of those I have seen. Bewitched was awful. Old School was eh. Ballad of Ricky Bobby was pretty good. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was funny. It depends on the situation and the material I think.

And as for Mike Myers being the only one able to turn a 10 minute sketch into a movie? I'm not convinced, since there were a lot of scenes that he dragged out too far, going from funny moment to uncomfortably monotonous.
 
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