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How long before he goes the way of Mike Myers?


First off, I've enjoyed a lot of Will Ferrell's movies. So I like him as an actor. But I just read that The House is bombing, both critically and at the box office.

And even though his last two films, Get Hard and Daddy's Home, did pretty well financially, it doesn't seem like we hear nearly as much about him as we did back in the days of films like Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers. Even though his movies are still performing pretty well, he doesn't seem to be the "it" guy in comedy anymore and there just doesn't seem to be much buzz around him these days.

We saw the same thing with Mike Myers. He was hot for a while with films like Wayne's World, 54 and the Austin Powers series before mostly just doing a bunch of Shrek sequels before pretty much disappearing entirely.

To be fair, Will Ferrell has already had a much more fruitful career than Myers and has shown that he has more staying power. But it does seem like his star is beginning to wane and I have to wonder if in a decade we'll be thinking about him in the past tense.

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He is definitely hit or miss now. In the last few years, he has had some hits (Daddy's Home 2, Lego Movie2) and some bombs (Zoolander2, The House, Holmes and Watson). Interesting that his hits are sequels and one is just a voice job. Maybe after two decades, the public finally growing weary of Ferrell's schtick.

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Yeah, the golden years of hit after hit are over. He definitely had a period where it seemed like he could do no wrong in the 00s, but you as you said these days it's hit or miss.

He does seem like the kind of performer who people will eventually tire of just because he comes across as fairly one note. That's not entirely fair, because certainly his performances in Anchorman, Stranger Than Fiction and Elf were not copies of each other, but it still feels like he doesn't have much more to offer than one kind of thing.

You can contrast him with John C. Reilly, who he has obviously co-starred with multiple times, and Reilly comes off as a much more interesting performer just because he has proven that he is so versatile. He can do comedy or drama, and can do both excellently. I just recently watched him in Stan & Ollie and he's amazing in that film.

I guess we'll see what the future holds for Will Ferrell. He's been around long enough now that it's hard to imagine him just fading into obscurity, but it's clear that he at least needs to make sure to have a good script if he wants his films to be successful. Just putting the name "Will Ferrell" on the poster isn't going to be enough.

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Came here because I'm curious about the Ron Burgundy Podcast. Have heard good things but I wasn't a big fan of the movies.

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I love the podcast, it's hilarious. I don't think it matters that much if you liked the movies or not. If you find Will Ferrell funny I'd recommend it. For the record the first Anchorman is one of my favourite comedies.

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Will give it a shot. Ferrell is my all-time favorite SNL cast-member.

The original movie definitely had some funny moments. My problem with Adam McKay movies in that I start to feel bad for the main characters. Like Step-Brothers.

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Ferrell hasn't been funny for over a decade. So, that ship has already sailed.

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I'm trying to think what his last good movie was.

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The original "Anchorman" is the one I am thinking of.

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The Other guys in 2010 and Taledega Nights were released after Anchorman, but its only been like two good movies in 15 years.

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I don't think he's ever been funny. Just obnoxious.

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I don't know, but he's not disappearing fast enough. I always loathed and despised his movies, and could never figure out how he kept getting roles, other than having friends in Hollywood and a large fanbase from the LMCD crowd.

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Lmcd?

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Exactly..The only film of his I found bearable was "Everything Must Go" and it wasn't even a comedy.
His fame has always had me scratching my head...just not funny ..Kind of obvious cartoonish slapstick stuff. Never amused me or made me laugh ..

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He is much better when he isn't given free reign to do whatever he wants. A lot of his movies get too silly for me. I had the same issues with Adam Sandler.

However, he can be really good in the right roles. His performances in Stranger than Fiction and Everything Must Go blow everything else he has done out of the water, in my opinion. I actually think he could be a good dramatic actor if he went that route.

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Everybody that gets big in Hollywood has their day, and then they aren't as big anymore. Their star fades, their Hollywood muscle atrophies, and their films just don't work like they used to. Especially with comedy, because comedy and things people find funny change so much, and it so difficult to maintain that.

Your audience also grows up over the years. Look at Jim Carrey...he could do no wrong from the mid-90's until what, the early 2000's, then he started to suffer at the box office...well, at least he wasn't breaking records with every movie he was releasing.

Adam Sandler, also couldn't miss after The Wedding Singer for a decade or more (Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore weren't huge hits, but now are cult favorites, and still funny in my opinion), but by now in 2019 people have really started to sour on Sandler.

I think Mike Myers had some baggage, with a lot of people commenting that he was difficult to work with, but he owned comedy for a while with Wayne's World, Austin Powers, and Shrek.

Will Ferrell follows a similar path. He either has to find a way to change up what he does to stay relevant, or just hang on to the audience he has left.

Nobody stays on top forever, especially in comedy.

I also think something that has affected ALL of the comic actors over the years, and that is the overly-political correct era that has constantly grown to ridiculous proportions. Back then, you could make a joke at someone's expense without some watchdog group ready to picket at your movie. Now every joke is taken literally by some group of people, and instead of saying to themselves "it's a joke, no worries", they cry, bitch, and moan, and then turn on the person who made the joke, branding them whatever label they feel is necessary. So definitely don't lose site of PC being a big reason for the decline of comic actors. The "holier than now" attitude of society has hurt comedy in general. I believe Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock have stopped doing shows on college campuses, because the kids are so sensitive to every single joke that is told. Not a good sign for comedy in the future. College campuses today are a bad sign for a lot of things in the future.

Anyways, there are my quick thoughts on the matter, haha.

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Good post.

Jim Carrey is a good call as another example of a comedic actor who seemed to lose his touch and his connection with the audience. I don't think his political outspokenness and his weird behavior over the past few years has helped. The dude really comes across as quite strange these days.

Regarding Sandler, I admit I have a bit of a soft spot for him. I watched his recent Netflix film Murder Mystery and enjoyed it. It's a lightweight trifle, but I found it fun. I wish he would take on more dramatic roles because I think he shines when he does. He also comes across as a cool dude in real life.

If you haven't seen his tribute to Chris Farley, you should check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp2qkhHU0Mw

Lastly, I 100% agree with you about how the overly PC attitude that has become prevalent today has hurt comedy. A number of comedians have said as much. I didn't know that about Jerry and Chris no longer doing shows on college campuses, but it doesn't bode well for the future of America, when you consider that the kids on college campuses ARE the future of America.

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If you look at his career, you'll notice that most of his iconic roles were written alongside Adam McKay, who went on to win an Oscar. Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, The Other Guys...all co-written and directed by McKay

So he probably owes a lot of his success to McKay. Not every comedian gets a top-caliber writer to work so closely with them for so long. Not that Ferrell doesn't deserve any credit, I do think he's a very funny guy as a performer

That being said, I dunno if he will ever go the way of Mike Myers. Myers is a particularly bad case of terrible choice-making. Cat in the Hat, with that creepy fucking make-up, The Love Guru, and the third Austin Powers were all awful. Love Guru, I think, made everyone doubt whether Myers was ever really funny

And I think part of what happened with Myers was a self-imposed exile. I'm sure he could have continued doing comedy movies if he really wanted to (I mean, Adam Sandler is still making bank with his crap films) but he didn't want to destroy his legacy with more bad movies

Ferrell has been making some bad movies, but he doesn't make outrageously bad choices like dressing up as a cat or as a figure of Hindu mysticism

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Good point regarding McKay. I didn't realize that.

Regarding Mike Myers, I'll say that The Cat in the Hat was a disaster but I can see why he took the role. Being based on a famous Dr. Seuss book, and with How the Grinch Stole Christmas having made $350 million just a few years before, he probably thought it was a surefire way to have a hit. I can't blame him for that logic. I thought it would be a hit, too.

You may be right that he could've done more films since The Love Guru if he had really wanted to. It would be interesting to have a candid conversation about his career and what exactly happened, from his perspective.

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I’ve heard Will Ferrell is a nice guy but he’s always been one of the worst comedians working, ESPECIALLY in unscripted improv. I’m not sure why he demands to do so much unscripted work when he is atrocious at it. How many times can he do the “shouting while being confused” shtick?

Director: Okay Will, this is the scene about shoes.
Will: WAIT. I have an improv ruitine that’s way funnier than the script!
Director: Okay. Ready?...and action!
Will: Oh! Uh, shoes! Shoes? Shoes! They go on your feet! Shoes! Oh my god, shoes! There are shoes! Shoes exist! Shoes!? I’m shouting while being confused about shoes!
Director: Cut! Brilliant, Will.

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This is so accurate it's almost mindbending.

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