With the release of Get Hard, Will Ferrell is back in wily comic mode as a white-collar con dreading his imminent trip to prison. Think 25th Hour made up of dirty laughs.
For the release, we decided to look back at the ups and downs of Ferrell’s film career and rank every single one of his movie performances. Yes, everything from the stupid (Boat Trip, the awkward early years) to the stupendous (INSERT CATCH PHRASE HERE) to the interestingly great work he’s done while uncredited. We would have included Funny or Die shorts, but that would have doubled this list. So, we’ll just say this now: The Landlord is a flawless viral video.
Now on to Ferrell at the movies.
–Blake Goble
Senior Writer
41. Darren Clark
The Thin Pink Line (1997)
Ferrell is just an extra in this mockumentary, so if you’ve never heard of The Thin Pink Line, why start learning about it now? It’s got Jason Priestley, Jennifer Aniston, Maura Tierney, David Cross, and it’s just terrible. Terrible. Now enjoy, or wince, at this clip featuring a sparkle-vested, awkwardly tall Ferrell. It’s truly his worst, because no one could see his talents yet. –Blake Goble
Best Line: Dialogue not found
40. Gil
The Suburbans (1999)
Here we get shy, soft-voiced, Dad-humored, pre-fame Will Ferrell in a low-rent rock comedy with Craig Bierko and Jennifer Love Hewitt. The Suburbans is one of those flops that gets re-packaged on DVD with all the stars on the cover, after they’ve become stars. Ferrell got to be the nerdy guy in a bro band. –Blake Goble
Best Line: “I have a handheld GPS satellite-controlled system, that’s just, dynamite…”
39. Al
Men Seeking Women (1997)
Ferrell’s first film is a forgettable one (his top-billed co-stars are Grant Shaud and Anthony Palermo, to which you may be asking yourself, who?), but at least his debut made an impression. At the time that he was shooting Men Seeking Women as Al, a nerdy 33-year-old who makes a bet with his friends to see who can be the first to get a girlfriend, Ferrell was still a virtual unknown, having only just joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. Of course, he became a much bigger star by the time the indie comedy was released in 1997; and judging by the emphasis on his name and face in the promotional materials, the belated star of the film as well. –Leah Pickett
Best Line: [Trapped under a car] “I’ve been worse.”
38. Michael, Brian’s Boyfriend (uncredited)
Boat Trip (2002)
Wherein Ferrell upstages an Oscar winner in one completely irrelevant scene. –Randall Colburn
Best Line: “Oh, Larry, you’re still here. Your mother died. This morning. I’m sorry, I thought you got my Post-It.”
37. Lance Delune
The Ladies Man (2000)
As with several films based on one-note SNL characters, Ferrell shines the brightest here as a supporting character — a wimpy husband who’s obsessed with Greco Roman wrestling. More oil! –Dan Caffrey
Best Line: “Are you sure you don’t want just a dab? It’s a lemon essence, and it is delightful.”
36. Jack Wyatt
Bewitched (2005)
This lame, if ambitious, riff on the Bewitched TV series works against most of Ferrell’s strengths. He’s great when allowed to unleash Jack Wyatt’s formidable ego, but the tenderness of the film’s romantic core doesn’t suit him. –Randall Colburn
Best Line: “You shall lick my face, and I shall lick your snout!”
35. Dave
The Wendell Baker Story (2005)
A strange passion project from Luke Wilson and Andrew Wilson (Owen’s brothers, yes), Wendell Baker Story depicts a well-meaning ex-con and his hijinks at a retirement home. Will Ferrell slugging Luke Wilson in the face in a grocery story is the cameo. Forgettable movie, but it’s a smirking bit part for Ferrell. –Blake Goble
Best Line: “You’re a real character, aren’t ya, god you’re a real character?!”
34. Mattress Salesman (uncredited)
The Internship (2013)
Ferrell’s filthy, butt-obsessed bro pops in to give this abysmal Google commercial at least one funny scene. Just look at that neck tat. It had to have been his idea. –Randall Colburn
Best Line: “Have you done the back door yet? Back door? Back door action? Knock knock? Back door? It’s me. With my penis.”
33. Jackie Moon
Semi-Pro (2008)
Classic Ferrell scream-riffing, this time in a silly wig. –Randall Colburn
Best Line: “SUCK MY COCK I’LL MURDER YOUR FAMILY!”
32. Franz Liebkind
The Producers (2005)
Although the 2005 film adaptation of The Producers pales in comparison to the original 1968 film and even the 2001 Broadway stage musical, starring much of the same cast, Ferrell is still sidesplitting as Franz Liebkind, a former Nazi whose musical tribute, Springtime for Hitler, is picked up by producers Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) and Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick) in their effort to stage “the worst play ever written” and defraud investors of $2 million from the sure-fire flop. Sure, Ferrell’s German accent is laughably bad — emphasis on the laughable — but his singing and dancing? Not too shabby. –Leah Pickett
Best Line: “The Fuhrer wasn’t a mousy little mama’s boy! The Fuhrer was BUTCH!”
31. Cam Brady
The Campaign (2012)
Throwing Southern politics into the mix makes for Ferrell at his sleaziest and meanest. But it also means there’s some sex-scandal stuff that’s funny in a cringe-worthy, icky kind of way. –Dan Caffrey
Best Line: “Let’s do something crazy weird next time like lick each other’s buttholes in a Denny’s bathroom.”
