Will Ferrell - Impressions?

hey, it's either funny to you or it's not. fortunately for ferrell, it would seem more get him than not.

 

Man, I have heard that from just about everyone who has seen it: That you need to see it more than once to get how funny it is. And it's true. The first time I saw it I thought it was funny. The second and third time I was doubled over.

 

All true ... but I thought we were talking about Anchorman?

 

I don't know. I saw it in the theatre and was doubled over through most of it.

That was the one movie where I was the guy laughing at all the shit nobody was laughing at. Like the "I'm getting too old for this shit" line in the bar, which is only funny if you pay attention to its delivery and consider how much that line is overused in the Bruckheimerish movies of the 90s.

And the commentary on the DVD? I've still never successfully made it past the 15-minute mark or so, supposedly Lou Rawls pops up out of nowhere later on which is in itself hilarious. It's so uproariously funny it's like the Joke That Killed from Monty Python, I can't take it.

All that said, I like 40-Year-Old Virgin even more.

 

I'm with both of you guys on 40-Year-Old Virgin. Unspeakably funny.

Which is why I can't wait to see Knocked Up.

 

Some actors do that for me. Ferrell and Philip Seymour Hoffman are the most blatant cases.

 

But on occasion, you do lose yourself in it?

I've never had that happen.

 

Anchorman was hilarious and I watched Stranger than Fiction last week and I thought it was good. But I hated Elf.

 

I don't find Will Ferrell to be funny at all. I've tried watching Anchorman and have only been able to watch it in bits and pieces never all the way through. It just doesn't do it for me.

 

I don't get Will Ferrell. He just seems to be trying too hard to be funny. It's too over-the-top. Loved Wedding Crashers, despite his presence.

He makes some wonderfully funny trailers, but over the course of two hours his humor just grates on me.

 

That's my belief, as well. Like s'chick says, he's just trying way too hard most of the time. You're always aware that you're watching Ferrell playing a character, rather than just losing himself in it.

I'd like to see him in a non-comedy role, preferably in something dark (but not a horror movie). As with Ben Stiller, I think there's a standout actor in there someplace just trying to claw his way past all the cheese and schlock.