New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

See, he's rebounding. From Semi-Pro.

Kim Hollis: Do we think this is a good rebound for Will Ferrell after Semi-Pro, or do we think the bloom is off the rose with regard to the actor?

David Mumpower: This is a result that allows for open-ended interpretation. This is roughly double Semi-Pro's $15.1 million. Is the glass half-full in that twice as many people gave this a shot relative to Semi-Pro or is it half-empty because he's selling fewer tickets than he did with the aforementioned Blades of Glory and Talladega Nights? I think this performance sustains Ferrell's relevance for a bit longer, but his next project needs to be a homerun. Really, that's Ferrell's huge problem. He's got Eddie Murphy Syndrome with some of his movie choices. Moving forward, a few more Anchormans (and there may be another one coming!) and fewer Kicking and Screamings puts him closer to Adam Sandler on the career spectrum than Murphy.

Pete Kilmer: The bloom started falling off Will Ferrell with his disaster of a cameo in Wedding Crashers. I think it was at that point, for me, that I realized that's the only kind of role he can play. The overgrown man child, which he's done in film after film after film. He tried to break that with Kicking and Screaming and Stranger Than Fiction...but no one wanted that from him at that point. So he dropped back to the type of roles that brought him to the table. He may get some more mileage out of it in Anchorman 2 and the upcoming Land of the Lost. But he needs to do something...and fast, or he's co-hosting with Jimmy Fallon in three years.

Tim Briody: MOM! THE MEATLOAF! You're nuts, his cameo in Wedding Crashers was hilarious.

Calvin Trager: Will, it's okay to say "no" to a movie every once in a while. You do not have to be in all of them.

Pete Kilmer: His role in Wedding Crashes brought a hilarious movie grinding to a halt. He added nothing to it and actually took away from a damned funny movie.





Jamie Ruccio: I was a big Will Ferrell fan when he was on SNL but think he's definitely written himself into a corner. I think his movie comedy is in great danger of becoming stale and repetitive. Or perhaps he's simply an entertainer giving an audience what they want. I think you'll begin to see that his movies do well or fail based on an individual basis. If he's smart he'll write Anchorman 2, put it in a drawer and pull it out only in case of emergencies.

Brandon Scott: Having two comedic names attached to the movie certainly helped. I think that is where Semi-Pro faltered by comparison. The best thing about Semi-Pro were the Old Spice ads and Bud Light ads. "Bud Light. Suck one...Cut!!!" Classic.

Sean Collier: Over-saturation might be a bit of a problem at this point. Ferrell is everywhere, and too many of his recent films are slight variations on a theme. Ferrell either needs a new blockbuster that turns his persona in a slightly different direction, or to follow the Jim Carrey path to serious work. Stranger than Fiction laid the seed, now it's time to see what else is out there.

Jason Lee: To me, Will Ferrell will always be one of those actors who can do massive business one second and flop the next. Step Brothers shows what can happen with a comic actor gives his audience exactly what they want and what they'd expect.

Scott Lumley: Will needs to start stretching himself again or his stuff is going to start getting old.

Daron Aldridge: There remains a clear demand for him in the right film. This one seemed more in spirit to Old School, which is doesn't seem as tired as what he did with Semi-Pro. Semi-Pro just came across yet another slapstick, sports movie from Will Ferrell.

Continued:       1       2       3