Here's something you might be interested in.
Well, as Twain said, it's difference of opinion that makes horse races. Actually, I agree with my esteemed colleague (see his post) about a lot of Ferrell's cinematic output; I found Talledega Nights mostly painful, except of course for the Baby Jesus scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A0-u85aAYg&feature=related
Amazing. Has America ever loved someone so much for taking potshots at her? But I digress. Look, I get that Richard Pryor was a truly gifted comedian who pushed all kinds of boundaries and managed to be funny while doing it, but still: Critical Condition? There's plenty of dross in his IMDb profile. Steve Martin won it in 2005, the same year he did Cheaper By the Dozen 2. Will Ferrell, on the other hand, did Anchorman, the film which has inspired more hipster T-shirts than any other:
Ye gods. But I digress again. My point is that you're probably right that Ferrell works best in five-minute increments. But while that's a strike against his movies, it's not necessarily a strike against his comedy. He did Bush on Broadway, which probably garnered him a number of fans among the Kennedy Center set. And his founding of Funny or Die made possible Between Two Ferns. Plus, The Landlord:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PheQBMCYGU
Over 70 million Elvis fans can't be wrong?
Well, as Twain said, it's difference of opinion that makes horse races. Actually, I agree with my esteemed colleague (see his post) about a lot of Ferrell's cinematic output; I found Talledega Nights mostly painful, except of course for the Baby Jesus scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A0-u85aAYg&feature=related
Amazing. Has America ever loved someone so much for taking potshots at her? But I digress. Look, I get that Richard Pryor was a truly gifted comedian who pushed all kinds of boundaries and managed to be funny while doing it, but still: Critical Condition? There's plenty of dross in his IMDb profile. Steve Martin won it in 2005, the same year he did Cheaper By the Dozen 2. Will Ferrell, on the other hand, did Anchorman, the film which has inspired more hipster T-shirts than any other:
Ye gods. But I digress again. My point is that you're probably right that Ferrell works best in five-minute increments. But while that's a strike against his movies, it's not necessarily a strike against his comedy. He did Bush on Broadway, which probably garnered him a number of fans among the Kennedy Center set. And his founding of Funny or Die made possible Between Two Ferns. Plus, The Landlord:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PheQBMCYGU
Over 70 million Elvis fans can't be wrong?