The Hot Streaks of Will Ferrell
August 19, 2013 Ben DiCostanzo Features, Hot Streaks
Welcome to Hot Streaks. A look at the times when comedians at the height of their power. Comedy comes in waves, and with it comedians ride the success of public adoration and creativeness. During these times (usually around 5 years), comedians are putting out some of their most successful projects. So with that being said, let’s take a look at some of the hot streaks some of the best comedians have out there.
This week we take a look at Will Ferrell
Hot Streak: 2003-2008
Key Projects: Old School, Elf, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Wedding Crashers, Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, Step Brothers
Power Ranking: 8.5
Though Will Ferrell was definitely known before well before his hot streak kicked off. He starred in A Night at the Roxbury and appeared in the first two Austin Powers movies as Mustafa, Zoolander as Mugatu, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as Wildlife Marshall Willenholly. All of this came while he was performing on Saturday Night Live. But it was his role as Frank The Tank in Old School is really what was able to put his movie career on top. Establishing Ferrell as one of the best comedy performers we’ve seen in a really long time, helping him climb the comedy ladder. Ferrell followed that with a run of now classics like Elf, Talledega Nights, Anchorman, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and Step Brothers. Once his name was established, his role in all of his hit comedies brought him straight to the top of the comedy ladder. Even his five minute cameo in Wedding Crashers, sitting in his mom’s living room screaming for meatloaf was one of the movies most memorable moments.
There are no shortage of Ron Burgundy fans out there either. The popular news anchor will be back this winter for the second installment of Anchorman. I don’t think we need to stress the impact that Ferrell has had on the comedy world over the past decade. We all know what movies he was in and which ones will still make fans laugh for years to come.
No matter how big of an impact someone has, there always comes a time when the hot streak comes to an end. We sort of saw the end of Ferrell’s streak when Land of the Lost was released. Though it made money, it just had the wrong notes. Since then, he hasn’t put out a movie that even comes close to the ones he had during his peak years but he’s kept himself busy with Funny Or Die and a production company that’s helped other funny people get in TV and movies and voiceover work. He’s by no means been quiet and returned to form with the as a detective alongside Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys and ran for office against Zach Galifanakis in The Campaign. These were his last two notable projects and all we can do as fans is sit back and wait until Ron Burgundy’s legend continues this winter.
