The subject of today’s post is Will Ferrell. When I started writing, I had every intention to write a brief overview of his entire filmography, but as I began writing, I realized there were only two I actually wanted to write about: Anchorman and Talladega Nights. I’ll briefly touch on the rest of Ferrell’s filmography and my categorization of his films. I want to be clear, it will not be a full analysis. Instead, I will be focusing on the unique aspects of both titles and explain my connection to them. I should also note that this list only includes films. As hilarious as he was on SNL, this will not be taken into account.
I’ll start my discussion by saying that I generally like Will Ferrell. However, not all of his movies are created equal. In my mind, I can break all of his movies succinctly into four groups: good, mediocre, horrible, or not applicable. I will go on record and say that I believe Will Ferrell has only six “good” films. I would dare to say that his “good” films are the ones he made with Adam McKay as director and himself as co-writer/producer (Anchorman, Anchorman 2, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys). The only exception, in my opinion, would be 2022’s Spirited. That was a fun take on A Christmas Carol from the guys behind the Daddy’s Home movies. It was funny, clever, and had some great musical numbers. The only unfortunate thing is that it is an Apple Original Film, meaning it cannot be purchased or streamed elsewhere. I believe that if the film was a Netflix or Prime Original, it would have a larger presence. I’m hoping, like Elf, that Spirited will be considered a Ferrell Christmas classic for years to come.
My next classification of Ferrell movies would be “mediocre.” These are the ones that aren’t terrible, but not great either. Films in this category include Daddy’s Home, Daddy’s Home 2, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and The Campaign. The “bad” category houses stinkers such as Land of the Lost (admittedly, which I’ve never actually seen), Get Hard, and Holmes & Watson. However, I believe the worst offender to be The House. Co-starring Amy Poehler as a couple who lose all of their daughter’s college tuition and start an underground casino to recoup the losses, the film sounds like a hit. However, the film was executed so poorly that it makes me angry to think about all the squandered potential.
The last category is “not applicable.” When one thinks of a “Will Ferrell movie,” one probably thinks of bombastic, silly manchildren spitting out hilarious one-liners. Early in his career and as of late, Ferrell has taken on several supporting roles. Because he is not the lead, it feels unfair to me to include them in the discussion about their merits. Films that fall onto this list include Zoolander, Old School, The Lego Movie, and Barbie.
With all that background information behind us, let’s dive in. Let’s talk about Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. The history of this movie is a fascinating one. Written with his writing partner Adam McKay, the duo pitched the movie several times to different studios but were turned down. The prevailing thought around town was that Ferrell did not have enough star power to anchor the movie. This thought wasn’t completely unfounded. At the time of the pitching, the only films on his resume were SNL spin-offs A Night at the Roxbury, Superstar, and The Ladies Man, a cameo in the first two Austin Powers movies, and a small role in the highly underrated, Dick. I promise you the film is not as dirty as it sounds. The film is a political satire where the titular Dick is Richard Nixon. Just a side note. Will Ferrell plays Bob Woodward, so Ferrell has the distinction of saying that he has a role in common with Robert Redford. I digress. It wasn’t until the successes of Old School and Elf, that the film was finally greenlit.
The film that made it to the screen in 2004 was vastly different from what the writers had intended. According to Ferrell, the initial idea for the film was a parody of the disaster movie Alive. The film would have seen Ron Burgundy and the news team trying to survive after a plane crash in the wilderness. Allegedly, the film also had planned sequences involving a musical number with sharks and ninja star-wielding orangutans. I speak for everyone when I say, thank God that movie never got off the ground. Despite the script improvement, the film that entered production was still noticeably different from the final cut. A whole subplot involving the news team tracking down an allusive group of hippie bank robbers referred to as “The Alarm Clock Bandits” was cut and replaced with the panda storyline. There were so many cut scenes that a DVD was released filled strictly with these scenes, dubbed “Wake Up Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie.”
Thankfully, the version that made it to the screen excised all of the needless subplots and instead focused on the characters. Ferrell and McKay (and producer Judd Apatow) were wise to cut the complexities of the plane crash and replace them with the simplicity of a character-driven story. The film’s plot is a simple one. Misogynistic Anchor Ron Burgundy is the number one news anchor in 1970s San Diego. He enjoys spending time with his eccentric news team, reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), slow-witted weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), obnoxious sports reporter Champ Kind (David Koechner), his dog, Baxter, and of course, a nice glass of scotch. Burgundy’s life gets thrown upside down when the station brings in a female news anchor, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) to co-anchor with him. In my opinion, seeing Burgundy and the team’s response to the hiring of a female news anchor is funnier than anything related to a plane crash.
I’m guessing that, like most people, you don’t watch a Will Ferrell movie for the theme. Like the plot, the film’s theme is simple: change. Ron has to adjust as a gender he thought of as second class not only enters the workforce but thrives. Ron has to change from this loud, blowhard of a man who only cares about himself, to somebody who can genuinely care about others. This change happens not only as Ron accepts Veronica as a peer, but falls in love with her. It’s the oldest theme in the books, but it works. I imagine a plane crash comedy wouldn’t have held as much heart.
If Elf and Old School set Ferrell’s career into orbit, Anchorman launched it into the stratosphere. The box office success of this film proved that Ferrell could not only lead a movie but that he would be a bonafide movie star for years to come. Though it may not be my favorite of Ferrell’s movies, I do want to take the time to acknowledge the impact it had on my life.
It would have been the spring of 2011 when I first saw Anchorman. I was in sixth grade, sick in bed, and that movie came on TV. It’s not an exaggeration to say that my life changed that day, at least in the scope of my love for film. Having been accustomed to watching mainly Disney and Nickelodeon fare, Anchorman was my introduction to more “adult” movies. Get your head out of the gutter. I don’t mean that type of “adult” movie. For the first time that I could remember, I was watching a comedy chalked full of innuendo, risque humor, and foul language. It wasn’t Hangover bad, but for a 12-year-old, it was scandalous. And, as it turns out, I was watching the censored version on TBS. You could imagine my surprise when I purchased the DVD and got to see additional scenes like the announcer introducing Veronica as “Tits McGee” or Ron Burgundy blindly telling the city to “go fuck yourself, San Diego.” I can’t tell you how many times I watched that DVD after school. This film, along with Tommy Boy, acted as a bridge between the kiddie fare I was used to and more adult-oriented films like Superbad.
I’m not going to dedicate a whole post, but I would be remiss if I did not at least acknowledge Anchorman 2, the highly anticipated sequel that took ten years. I’m going to go on record and say that I don’t think the movie is terrible, but I will say it is unnecessary. I relate it to Back to the Future. Part Two is enjoyable, but it should have been left as a single masterpiece. I need to backtrack. I hesitate to call Anchorman a masterpiece, but would not hesitate to call Back to the Future a masterpiece. The bizarre thing about Anchorman 2 is that there are three different versions of the film. There is the theatrical, the unrated, and the “supersized R-rated version.” Ironically enough, I prefer the R-rated version, which, other than a few additional expletives, you can’t tell it is R. The R-rated version tells a complete story, but I feel like the other two versions are lacking. The cost of that is the R-rated version is almost two and a half hours long, which is a long runtime by comedy standards. Again, it was a fun movie. I enjoyed seeing what the News Team was up to, but I wish they had left it alone. It makes me glad that there is no sequel to Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, or The Other Guys (though this one probably had the most potential). Anyway, that’s all I’ll say about Anchorman 2.
Watching this movie in 2024 is a different experience than it was in 2011. As my tastes have matured, I don’t find stupid humor as funny as I once did. Though, as far as stupid humor goes, Will Ferrell may just be my kryptonite. Despite this, the film still contains many scenes and one-liners that make me cackle with laughter. Some of my favorite moments include Ron explaining that “diversity” is an old wooden ship, Brian bragging that Sex Panther works 60% of the time every time, or Brick’s line “I love lamp.” It’s impossible not to laugh during the news team brawl. It’s sheer chaos and Steve Carell holding a hand grenade kills me. How can you keep your composure when a bunch of grown men break into a rendition of “Afternoon Delight?” It may not be my favorite of Ferrell’s films, but damn it if it doesn’t bring back fun memories.
The duo’s next film, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is everything a sophomore effort should be. In addition to being riotously funny, the film has more heart and character development than its predecessor. Anchorman will always hold a soft spot in my heart, but as of this writing, Talladega Nights is my favorite Ferrell vehicle (no pun intended). Ironically, when I was in middle school, I loved Anchorman but hated Talladega Nights. It wasn’t until I rewatched it in high school, my perception completely changed. So, let us ponder, what happened?
For starters, I like the humor displayed in Talladega Nights better than that of Anchorman. I would not dare use the word “smart” to describe either film’s comedy, but I would argue that the former’s humor is just a tad bit more sophisticated. It’s not just Ferrell that shines either. Ferrell, of course, is the head honcho. It’s his movie from start to finish and he is hilarious. However, I believe the film works best when Ferrell gives other actors time to shine. Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, and Jane Lynch are hilarious, as expected, as Ricky’s rival and his parents. Even Academy Award-nominated serious actor Michael Clarke Duncan is surprisingly funny as Ricky’s pit boss, Lucius.
Again, I’m not contesting the fact that the film is Ferrell’s. He’s the lead. He’s top-billed. However, if one person could steal the film, it would be John C. Reilly as Ricky’s friend and teammate, Cal Naughton, Jr. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to state that Ferrell and Reilly’s comedic chemistry could be defined as “magic.” I dare anyone not to watch the dinner scene where Ricky prays to Baby Jesus and not laugh hysterically. Or the many times Cal tricks Ricky into talking to him after he stole Ricky’s wife, for that matter. The innocence Reilly brings to the character amplifies the humor. If it weren’t a comedy, we, as an audience, would probably be sick at the way Ricky treats Cal at times. It’s Cal’s demeanor and undying loyalty to Ricky that permits us to laugh. The chemistry between Ferrell and Reilly was so electric that Ferrell and McKay took notice, writing the co-lead part in Step Brothers for Reilly.
I could sit here and just list out quotes and scenes that leave me in stitches, but I think that would bore you. It may also be plagiarism at some point, too. Just because I’m not sure where else I should mention it, let me just bring up the music cues. I can’t hear Pat Benatar’s “We Belong” or Journey’s “Faithfully” without thinking about this movie.
Okay, my brief aside is over. I want to talk about the story. The plot for Talladega Nights has many moving parts that serve the overall theme of redemption. Ricky Bobby (also a bit of a pompous ass), lives by the motto, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” It’s a screwed-up motto, as we later find out, but it is his motto. Every decision he makes is influenced by this mantra. It’s the reason he never lets Cal take home a gold medal or why he freaks out when Jean Girard (Cohen) comes into town and presents himself as a serious competitor.
I think this fact alone presents Talladega Nights as a more mature title than Anchorman. I, of course, use “mature” loosely. I see more growth in Ricky Bobby as a character than I did in Ron Burgundy. Ron has an arc, of course, but I feel like Ricky’s was more complex. Whereas Ron lost it all and had to admit his love for Veronica to move forward, Ricky’s arc had more to it. He had to start as number one then lose his confidence, his title, his wife, his best friend, and worst of all, his driver’s license. He had to lose all that to re-discover the love of his family and friends, and ultimately work to become the person he was meant to be. By the end of the film, he’s transformed from a selfish, ignorant ass, to a self-aware family man.
Follow-ups from Ferrell and McKay such as Step Brothers and The Other Guys had funny and sometimes clever moments, but I believe that Ferrell has yet to top himself. Truth be told, especially with his and McKay’s creative partnership no more, I don’t think Ferrell ever will. Unlike Anchorman, I don’t have a nostalgic story behind it. It’s just a damn funny movie, one that can cheer me up when I’m at a low point. I get that Ferrell isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. For those of you who fall into that boat, I have one thing to say to you: my condolences.