Will Ferrell walked on to SNL and totally brought it back to a level of funny that had long been abandoned. Harry Carrey, George W. Bush, and the Spartan Cheerleaders were some of the funniest and most memorable characters done on SNL for that last 20 years.
Ferrell has gone one to star in a lot of movies. Some good, some bad. Below you will find my list of the top 5 Will Ferrell characters. I have based my rankings on 3 criteria: Quotability, Likeability, and the strength of the supporting cast. So, away we go!!!!
5. Ron Burgundy in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
This role was the one that really showed that Ferrell could carry a movie all on his own. This was a movie I really remember going to see in theaters with a group of my friends. I was about 18 or 19 when this one came out, and it seems that the comedy was aimed at my age bracket of the time.
Quotability: Had it not been for this movie, I seriously doubt any of my generation would have had any funny conversations in our early 20′s. However, while still very quotable, most of these quotes taken out of the context of the movie, don’t really make much sense. This led to conversations, like this one, to take place all around the country:
College Freshman 1: Ribs. I had ribs for lunch, that’s why I’m doing this.
College Freshman 2: I’m very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.
College Freshman 1: Haha classic! Remember when he had that beard and was drinking milk? And he was all “Milk’s a bad choice when it’s hot!” HAHAHAHA!
College Freshman 2: I’ve wasted my life learning quotes from movies…
Rating: 7/10
Likeability: Farrell’s character in this movie isn’t a typically “likeable” guy. He’s a jerk, he’s rude, he’s a sexist, and he wears a mustache like a champion. But, he’s also an idiot, so he almost gets a free pass. And in the end, everyone seems to get along with him just fine. So, whatever.
Rating: 6/10
Supporting Cast: Paul Rudd, David Koechner (who is way better as a supporting character), Christina Applegate, Fred Willard, and the always hilarious Steve Carrell.
Rating: 5/10 (This is for under-utelizing Fred Armisen, AND for having Chris Parnell in the cast. I hate that guy.)
4. Mugatu in Zoolander
This movie came out right in the middle of Will’s time on SNL, and was before his run at leading roles. However, for me, Ferrell steals the show from Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. He’s crass, over the top, dressed to kill, and carries that dog around like Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. He’s a ridiculous parody of a fashion designer, in a movie that is the bench mark for all fashion world parodies. Because there are so many.
Quotability: Sadly, Mugatu’s lines aren’t that quotable. He did have a few gems, however most of his dialouge is not full hilarious quotes though. However, without Mugatu we would have never had “He’s so hot right now.” and “I invented the piano key necktie! I invented that!” And I will never forget a manager of mine once saying “I’m a hot little potato right now.” So, there’s that…
Rating: 3/10
Likeability: Mugatu is the bad guy, so no one likes him. I mean, that guy Todd liked him. And Katinka. So no… Nobody important liked him.
Rating: 3/10
Supporting Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson before he got too famous for himself, Christine “Hey, Dude” Taylor, George Costanza’s dad, and an awesome cameo by David X-Files. Had it not been for Jerry Stiller, Will Ferrell would have played my favorite character in the movie.
Rating: 6/10
3. Frank Ricard in Old School
Old School is one of those movies that gets funnier and funnier everytime I see it. I don’t actually know anyone who hasn’t seen it. This was the first movie I bought without seeing it, based on my best friends review. Frank Ricard is the most embarrassing character in this movie. His wife divorces him, his friends are more responsible, and his favorite pledge dies. He had it rough, but always stayed positive. Oh, Frank.
Quotability: For me, the only lines really worth quoting are Frank’s lines. the strength of the quotability of this character is Will Ferrell’s ability to make non-comedic lines funny.
Example 1: Mitch: I haven’t seen Frank’s dad in like eight years.
Frank: I love you dad.
Example 2: Marissa: That’s really, loud.
Frank: Yeah, thanks. Took the restrictor plate off to give the Red Dragon a little more juice. But it’s not exactly street legal, so keep it on the down low. Marissa
[waving to a neighbor]
Frank: Hey Mike!
However, had it not been for this movie, I wouldn’t have had to endure countless friends yelling “Snoop-a-loop” or “Bring your green hat!”
Quotability: 7/10
Likeability: I love Frank Ricard. He seems innocent enough, just stupid. Plus he really loves this fraternity. And he loves his friends. He does seem a bit clingy, especially after his wife kicks him out. And he would be that one friend that you’d always have to watch, no matter where you take him. I mean, he’s walking around a kid’s birthday party in a bathrobe. Unsupervised. He is bad about regifting, but in all honesty, who wouldn’t want to give away a bread maker. Those are like the worst kitchen appliances. (Take note everyone buying me a gift for my upcoming nuptuals.)
Rating: 7/10
Supporting Cast: No real need to evaluate this one. Vince Vaughn, before he started doing just shallow rehashings of characters he has already played, Luke Wilson who will always be more talented that his broke nosed brother, Zack’s old beach flame Stacey Carosi, and Cheee-eeeese!
Rating: 6/10
2. Chazz Reinhold in Wedding Crashers
I know this is a small cameo, but come on. The entire movie there is this mysterious Chazz, who somehow came up with the idea of crashing weddings. He’s in the Hall of Fame! And in all honesty, everyone was shocked when Ferrell walkes around the corner with those nunchucks around his neck. Nobody saw that coming.
Quotability: Once again, this is a character that isn’t so quotable, due to the nature of what he says. Typically, most of what is said by Chazz can’t make much sense outside of the context in which it was said. We did however get “I never know what she’s doing back there.” from Chazz, which is better than nothing, I guess.
Rating: 4/10
Likability: No one likes Chazz. His own mother doesn’t like him. He crashes funerals and hooks up with girls whose significant others have recently died. He’s a terrible human being. BUT, dude still owns a skateboard. And watches cartoons. And literally plans on using nunchucks as a valid means of defense. Gotta love that about him.
Rating: 3/10
Supporting Cast: The supporting cast here is mainly made up of Owen Wilson, since Ferrell’s character only interacts with Wilson’s. They have great chemistry, and the way he treats that chick he just hooked up with is hilarious. No telling how many takes it took them to get through that one scene.
Rating: 5/10
1. The Renter in FunnyorDie.com’s The Landlord
I know, I know. This is not a movie. However, it is one of the funniest things to hit the internet in a long time. If you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest you bounce on over, and do that.
Quotability: Not so much for Ferrell. He doesn’t really say anything that isn’t pathetic. However, little Pearl the Landlord has a lot to say. Someone spouts off a good Pearl quote around me, and it always gets me.
Rating: 0/10
Likeability: This poor guy is so sad. He’s so afraid of his landlord that he doesn’t want his buddy to leave. He just found out his dad’s gay through some sort of medical test, and his afro is spectacular. I like him, mostly because I feel bad for him. Heck, he even learns to stand up for himself a little bit.
Rating: 9/10
Supporting Cast: Pearl is the funniest baby ever to be caught drinking underage.
Rating: 10/10
