Stranger Than Fiction Very good movie cleverly done. Anchorman Steve Carrell has some very funny moments Talladaga Nights Apparently by my IMDB rating I didn’t hate this, though I thought I had, but I don’t recall much about it.
Did you watch "Stranger Than Fiction"? Ferrell was under strong directorial control there and did a fine job. OTOH, it *is *nothing at all like any other Will Ferrell movie.
Elf was enjoyable, though we saw it for Zooey Deschanel.
Talladaga Nights we saw for John C. Reilly, although Sacha Baron Cohen was the funniest thing in the film - pretty much the only saving grace.
At some point, when it is on cable, I’ll probably see Anchorman as I really like Steve Carrell.
The rest I haven’t seen because I watch movie review programs, check Rottentomatoes.com and see a LOT of films in the theater so I see most trailers. I figure that if the trailer doesn’t make me laugh the odds of the film doing so are pretty much nil. And the trailers for Land of the Lost, Step Brothers, Blades of Glory and Old School all failed that test.
Maybe it’s me, but I don’t find a lot of the things that seem to form the basis of Will Farrell’s comedy funny. His naked ass? Not funny. I spent summers in a nudist camp, so I’ve seen loads of flabby naked man (and woman) ass, and don’t get what is supposed to be funny about it. Pompous idiots? That’s a character, not humor in and of it’s self. It’s like he watched a bunch of Monty Python and got the funny voices and missed what the voices were saying.
Judging from what others have posted on SDMB, I must be crazy, but I thought Talladega Nights was hilarious. The two foul-mouthed kids were worth the price of admission. (“I’m gonna come at you like a spider monkey old man!”) Besides, it’s one of the few movies where Hollywood gets Southern accents right.
Exactly. If this were on the SAT, the question would be
Punch-Drunk Love is to Adam Sandler as Stranger Than Fiction is to ___________________.
Two strong and talented directors managed through an apparent combination of iron will, talent and tranquilizer dart guns to wrestle decent performances from two schtick-ridden performers notorious for the predilection for playing idiot man-children.
I don’t think he really belongs in the same category. Yes, he has a tendency to go over the top, but he’s gotten quite a bit of acclaim for several dramatic roles, including an Academy Award for one and a nomination for another. I predict Will Ferrell will never match that.
ETA: Just my opinion, but Jim Carrey may be a better example. I hated his comic schtick and thought his first couple of dramatic roles were vastly overrated so I’ve avoided most of his later movies. However, I finally broke down and watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and grudgingly concluded he wasn’t terrible in it.