2. Will Ferrell Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Will Ferrell is like marmite. Love him or hate him, hes here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. Personally I see him as something like the new Adam Sandler; hes not completely offensive but hes not exactly crossing his fingers under the table at the Oscars each year either. Generally, hes a straight-comedy player (something he honed during his SNL run) and sometimes hes very funny (other times, he just comes off as trying too hard, case in point: Semi-Pro). So when Id heard hed put out a semi-dramatic performance, I almost did a double take. Dont get me wrong, Stranger Than Fiction is a comedy, but its not a
straight comedy. Its quirky and irreverent, weaving the yarn of a completely beige IRS worker, who suddenly starts hearing voice-over narration on his life; and worse, it drops subtle hints about his imminent death. Pretty funny, right, in a sort of understated way? The fact that Ferrell is a comedic actor undoubtedly helped him here his character, while unbelievably restrained compared to the normal Ferrell affair still gets a laugh where appropriate, but its in the films more tender moments were Ferrell scores an unexpected home run. Ferrells challenge here is that he has to play a desperate man, while still maintaining restraint over his usual urge to go full on Anchorman with it. And that he does with surprising aplomb, simultaneously managing presenting a uniquely anal character, but one with whom we can all still find a way to easily relate. Its an unexpectedly human performance from a guy who usually offers little more than the absurd, and for that I doff my cap.