3. Will Ferrell's Film Career
Hey, dont give me that look. This is less of a stretch than counting on a third Crank movie getting the green light. Will Ferrell may give his protagonist different names and identities in Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and Step-Brothers, but, at their cores is
the same big, dumb, misogynistic, and past their prime character. Ferrell suffers from the same SNL syndrome as Mike Myers. The difference between the two men and their relative location on this list is their consistency. As stated before, Myers has a great knack for ensemble humor, but he suffers greatly from some downright repulsive lows when his own jokes dont land as intended. Ferrell surpasses Myers because he reaches the same highs of laughter in his quasi-series, but his lows, while still plentiful, are not nearly as bad. What really makes these films guilty pleasures is their complete willingness to momentarily break from the realm of cinematic license, plotting, and continuity to get a laugh. Unlike Harold and Kumar, these films are set up with plots that are greater than going from point A to point B, and unfortunately that causes a lot of those divergences to leave you scratching your head instead of laughing hysterically. They lack the consistency of their contemporaries Wedding Crashers and Old School and theyre nowhere near the level of masterpieces like Stripes, The Producers (the original), and Arthur (also the original). Where they fall short of these films in heartfelt storytelling and substantive messages though, they make up for in laughter. Ferrell's films (if they do nothing else) make you laugh early, and they make you laugh often. Thats enough for number three.