6 Memorable Will Ferrell Roles, Ranked
Will Ferrell’s flexible talent for both straight-and-dry deadpan and over-the-top quirkiness – and everything in between – has cast him in, or put him in consideration for, at least, every big-time studio comedy of “The Frat Pack” period.
The following are only a few of his many legendary identities. Jackie Moon deserves special recognition for developing the Slam Dunk. Roles Ferrell originated on Saturday Night Live or little character work in films he performed while still a cast member, and therefore while he was still more associated with the program than as a leading man in Hollywood, are out of the running. Mugatu is an example of this.
Phil Weston From Kicking & Screaming
Kicking & Screaming, maybe the most underappreciated of Ferrell’s golden era films, was not the actor’s first time playing a typical man who required just a simple push from the cosmos to morph into a certifiable madman.
But, as the pee-wee soccer coach who becomes so engrossed in his quest for triumph over his bully-for-a-dad that he becomes the exact thing he despises, Ferrell was the first to highlight the dangers of coffee addiction and baby blue jumpsuit dependency.
Brennan Huff From Stepbrothers
Brennan Huff and his stepbrother Doback are extremely damaged man-children whose awfulness was not a choice, unlike several previously noted Ferrell characters whose heroism is a reward for discovering the mistake of their ways.
Only through working together, losing each other, and then reconciling can the two eventually take charge of their own lives and rescue the day. Brennan’s very emotional Spanish interpretation of Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye” was used as a last-ditch effort to preserve the f**king Catalina Wine Mixer.
Harold Crick From Stranger Than Fiction
Ferrell shines as the routine-devout tax auditor in a race against time when an author (Emma Thompson) begins narrating his life, wondering how she’ll murder him off to complete her current book, in a film invoking Charlie Kaufman levels of meta-fantasy.
Ferrell’s little comedy excursion from silliness earned him a Golden Globe nod, as he proved a suitable romantic lead alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal – a pastry maker who stays right by his side until the too satisfying-to-spoil, heroism-filled conclusion.
Buddy The Elf From Elf
When a beloved Will Ferrell lead was called upon to save the day, the stakes were never greater than in Elf. Buddy the Elf saves the holiday by restoring the joy that had just begun to diminish among the human race in everyone’s favorite Christmastime watching.
Of course, it’s the Christmas spirit that powers Santa’s sled engine and reindeer. By the end, Ferrell’s Buddy has triumphed. When he regains control over Christmas, his father, the girl, and his family from New York and the North Pole merge to form an unlikely alliance.
Frank The Tank From Old School
What other achievement could rival the preservation of Christmas? It would be Frank the Tank who would save the fraternity by stealing audio proof of administrative bribery from the wicked Dean Pritchard’s clutches.
Instructing Snoop to bring his headgear. On the side of the road, strewn. Taking a horse tranquilizer to the jugular and does not feel any relief (until of course, he does). The no-holds-barred antics of a separated-from-his-newlywed Ferrell not only demonstrated his movie star tenacity immediately after leaving SNL. It was also the finest of feats his dust-in-the-wind avatars had performed: retaining one’s child-like, contagious “party mode” innocence long into maturity.
Kicking & Screaming, maybe the most underappreciated of Ferrell’s golden era films, was not the actor’s first time playing a typical man who required just a simple push from the cosmos to morph into a certifiable madman.
But, as the pee-wee soccer coach who becomes so engrossed in his quest for triumph over his bully-for-a-dad that he becomes the exact thing he despises, Ferrell was the first to highlight the dangers of coffee addiction and baby blue jumpsuit dependency.
