# Ranking Will Ferrell projects. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2009, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084 "2009-12-05T08:04:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/21 "2009-12-05T19:30:16Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > 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. _Stranger Than Fiction_ is a good, solid dramatic performance that points towards even better work in the future - as long at the tranquilizer dart guy has good aim. > [@](#): > > 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. Your example is better. I thought Jim Carrey was great in _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_, while I loathe most of his comedy work. [NTK.net](http://NTK.net) had a decent rule of thumb: _Bearded Robin Williams good, clean-shaven Robin Williams bad._ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/22 "2009-12-05T19:46:58Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > _Stranger Than Fiction_ is a good, solid dramatic performance that points towards even better work in the future - as long at the tranquilizer dart guy has good aim. > Your example is better. I thought Jim Carrey was great in _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_, while I loathe most of his comedy work. > > [NTK.net](http://NTK.net) had a decent rule of thumb: _Bearded Robin Williams good, clean-shaven Robin Williams bad._ If you ever get a chance to see Jim Carrey sing the farewell song to Larry Sanders (Larry Sanders Show finale - HBO), then do so. It’s freaking hilarious, and his comment to Sanders (Garry Shandling) after this over-the-top performance is gold. I like the first Pet Detective movie, but everything else has been mediocre. Back to Will Farrell: I haven’t seen Stranger Than Fiction, but I’d rather chew broken glass than watch any of his other films. [Found it.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIiY8qY_3dU) ---
**Author:** ![heavybuhbuh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@heavybuhbuh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heavybuhbuh)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/23 "2009-12-05T20:55:56Z")
I loved him as the lead on the short lived TV series The Oblongs which is hugely successful on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. !! ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/24 "2009-12-05T21:10:39Z")
Elf is a classic, Blades of Glory had moments, but the rest were horrible. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/25 "2009-12-06T03:18:58Z")
Step Brothers - Made for a good laugh. Blades of Glory - Not bad. I enjoyed it but wouldn’t watch it again. Stranger Than Fiction - I left the theater half way through the movie. It sucked. Talladaga Nights - Meh. I watched it and I might have laughed occasionally. The Anchorman - One of my favorite movies ever. We have quoted this movie a billion times. Elf - Good stuff. I’ve scene it a few times and it’s still funny. Old School - Animal House v2.0 YOU’RE MY BOY BLUE! ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/26 "2009-12-06T17:19:10Z")
I was about to ask about Dodgeball and Wedding Crashers, except a quick check with IMDB shows me that was Vince Vaughan, which shows you how few WF movies I’ve seen. OTOH, this thread’s gotten me to understand I’m a VV fan. What amazes me about this discussion is how consistent y’all are about his movies. I’ve been lurking on this board since the mid-90s, and the only time I’ve seen that happen (heck, I’ve seen passionate advocacy for “Showgirls” and “Starship Troopers”) was “Freddy Got Fingered.” NO ONE defended that abomination unto Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/27 "2009-12-06T17:34:22Z")
I haven’t seen them all, but I would rank those I’ve seen in this order (worst to best, as requested): The Anchorman . Elf . . . . . . . . . . Stranger Than Fiction ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/28 "2009-12-06T18:23:39Z")
> [@pesch](#): > > I was about to ask about Dodgeball and Wedding Crashers, except a quick check with IMDB shows me that was Vince Vaughan, which shows you how few WF movies I’ve seen. > > OTOH, this thread’s gotten me to understand I’m a VV fan. > > What amazes me about this discussion is how consistent y’all are about his movies. I’ve been lurking on this board since the mid-90s, and the only time I’ve seen that happen (heck, I’ve seen passionate advocacy for “Showgirls” and “Starship Troopers”) was “Freddy Got Fingered.” NO ONE defended that abomination unto Hollywood. I wish he’d be in more movies with Owen Wilson. Their different comedic styles seem to compliment each other really nicely. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/29 "2009-12-06T18:56:36Z")
My personal favorites from best to worst: Anchorman (It’s just “Anchorman” or “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”) Old School (more for the ensemble of Vince Vaugn, Farrel and Luke Wilson) Step Brothers Stranger Than Fiction Talladaga Nights Blades of Glory (most of my dislike of the retard from Napoleon Dynamite was balanced by Will Arnett) Elf Haven’t seen these: Land of the Lost The Oblongs (tv) Curious George I don’t really understand the hate for Will Farrell. I guess you either find his boisterous overbearing man-child shtick funny or you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/30 "2009-12-06T23:42:06Z")
I think Will Ferrell is pretty damned funny, and **Anchorman** is hilarious. ‘‘You bitch! You woke up the bears. Why did you _do_ that?’’ So many quotable moments in that film. So, best to worst: **Anchorman** **Stranger Than Fiction** - I’d place it as a tie with Anchorman, but they are very different movies. I am a fiction writer so I was especially moved by this film, particularly the moment where the author met her character. **Elf** - a very understated, quirky, heart-warming little film. **Blades of Glory** - I’ve only seen it once or twice, but from what I can recall it was pretty funny. **Talladaga Nights** - not his best, not his worst **Old School** - not my favorite The others I haven’t seen. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/31 "2009-12-06T23:51:55Z")
People, people, learn how to spell **Talladega**! (Interestingly, the posters who liked it are the ones who are spelling it right. Hmm…) ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/32 "2009-12-06T23:52:59Z")
I liked Land of the Lost, and I seem to almost be the only one here who saw it. It was an obvious cmoedy with no deep meaning and a compete lack of any complex humor. And it was still funny. Farrel played a washed-up scientist whose real genius was obscured his immense ego and dubious judgement. In a world of dimensional travel through kiddie park rides and rampaging T. Rexes much smarter than he. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/33 "2009-12-07T00:58:34Z")
[Sex Ed With Angus | Advice & Tips From A Professional Sex Therapist](http://www.angusoblong.net/theoblongs.html) Here are the Oblongs with an explanation. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/34 "2009-12-07T04:29:23Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I don’t really understand the hate for Will Farrell. I guess you either find his boisterous overbearing man-child shtick funny or you don’t. The thing is that he doesn’t actually _do_ anything with his “boisterous overbearing man-child shtick”. It’s like a comic who thinks just doing a funny voice kills (see: [“Coffee Talk”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_Talk)). A character is a fine thing, but it’s not funny unless you have them _also_ do or say something funny. I wish I could find the exact quote, so I’m paraphrasing here: Writers like creating funny things for normal-seeming people to say, while performers prefer to create strange characters. Wit versus clowning. Farrell is pretty firmly in the “clown” camp, and frankly I don’t find him to be a funny clown. No, his naked ass isn’t particularly hilarious, unless you find any man’s naked ass hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/35 "2009-12-07T05:10:37Z")
I think his popularity comes in the quotability of his movies. the movies themselves - the situations, the characters, the plots, aren’t funny in themselves. however, a lot of his lines are pretty funny out of context (at least to me and my group of friends). a string of hyperspecific non-sequiturs is what kiddies today laugh at. that and out-of-context pop references, severely self deprecating racial humor, and the much emulated, never replicated what-if stylings of Dave Chappelle. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/36 "2009-12-07T05:12:38Z")
I am in the minority, but I couldn’t watch more than 15 minutes of Anchorman. Extremely not funny. And Old School wasn’t nearly as funny as I wanted it to be. But I thought Step Brothers was fuckin’ hilarious. He and JC Reilly had the 12 year old thing down perfect. Blades of Glory was pretty funny too, I thought. Can’t put my finger on why those two were funny to me and the top two, prolly his most popular fillums, weren’t. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Cullain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cullain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cullain)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/37 "2009-12-07T06:38:30Z")
> [@heavybuhbuh](#): > > The following are a list of Will Ferrell movies and a tv show where he played the lead role, listed in most recent order: > > Land of the Lost > Step Brothers > Blades of Glory > Stranger Than Fiction > Talladaga Nights > Curious George > The Anchorman > Elf > Old School > The Oblongs (tv) > > I would like to see what everyone thinks of these projects, please rank them in order from your least favorite to best. Favorites: Old School Anchorman Elf Stranger Than Fiction Meh: Step Brothers Blades of Glory Talladaga Nights Didn’t See: Land of the Lost Curious George The Oblongs (tv) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/38 "2009-12-07T14:35:03Z")
I noticed that NOBODY finds Semi-Pro funny. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/39 "2009-12-07T15:00:03Z")
Elf Anchorman:The Legend of Ron Burgandy Stranger Than Fiction Talladaga Nights Blades of Glory _Bewitched_ Step Brothers Did not see: Land of the Lost Curious George Old School The Oblongs (tv) Aren’t you missing some, like _Bewitched_ and that soccer movie with Mike Ditka? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084/40 "2009-12-07T17:29:54Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I noticed that NOBODY finds Semi-Pro funny. Heh.. I was about to post “Wasn’t he in some basketball movie?” **Stranger than Fiction** was good but in a class of Ferrell movies by itself. I personally enjoyed **Anchorman** , **Old School** & **Talladaga Nights** in that order. **Elf** was okay but I don’t get the love for it from some people. **Blades of Glory** & **Step-Brothers** had moments but were pretty lackluster. **Semi-Pro** , “That soccer movie” & **Bewitched** sucked. Didn’t see the rest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-will-ferrell-projects/520084.md?page=1)