WILL FERRELL

by Nate Lee

BEST FILM:

Stranger than Fiction ...

Though “Wedding Crashers” is a close second, his is a hilarious bit in that film as opposed to the lead in this one. Though he rakes in the bucks with the moron comedies, he proves here that he can handle something a lot more poignant and dramatic.

GREAT PERFORMANCES YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN:

Kicking & Screaming (Robert Duvall’s son and, for the most part, fairly normal)

Melinda & Melinda (a missing Woody Allen film)

Zoolander (over-the-top bad guy)

A Night at the Roxbury (the bridge from SNL to Hollywood)

The Producers (over-the-top Nazi)

LOSER PRETENDING TO BE A WINNER:

Talladega Nights (race-car driver)

Blades of Glory (ice skater)

Wedding Crashers (lover)

Semi-Pro (upcoming)

Step Brothers

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

THE REAL WILL:

Though Kicking & Screaming comes vaguely close to the sports-loving, down-to-Earth regular guy, one questions whether or not the weirdos are closer to Will, just because he does so many.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN:

The Old School - Okay, this comes close to the Real Will, too.

ACTING STYLE:

Like Steve Martin, Bill Murray and other greats who honed their craft in and around SNL, Will Ferrell’s gift for improv sharpens his comedy. However, unlike Martin and Murray, he seems unwilling to move on beyond the dumbass stuff. And, Hey!, the dumbass stuff is really funny, and certainly profitable.

But, with real successes like “Stranger than Fiction” and even “Elf,” Ferrell has shown that he can do better than self-deluded egomeisters and dumb-as-dirt jocks. (Sorry if that’s a little redundant. So is Will.)

BITS AND QUIRKS:

Wide-eyed innocent bewilderment. Crude sexual gestures. Improvised lines. Funny panic, where he’ll move his body into distorted shapes to match his internal confusion.

GREAT SCENES:

STRANGER THAN FICTION - All of them: first hearing the voice, then when he hears that he is going to die.

WEDDING CRASHERS - Explaining to Owen Wilson about his new venture of crashing funerals while screaming at his mom for meat loaf.

BEWITCHED - Under a spell, he is ga-ga over Nicole Kidman, obsessing over her as much as he obsessed over himself before.

ELF - Calling the midget children’s author an elf > Redecorating the Santa area of the department store.

ROXBURY - The choreography in the car > The dance numbers

KICKING & SCREAMING - The over-caffeinated hyper-coach scenes.

GO TO THE... WILL FERRELL BIO