21 Times Will Ferrell Was A Comedy Genius

Will Ferrell joined the cast of "SNL" during the show's 21st season, and he made the power of his comedy genius clear right from the get-go. It was a transitional year, as legends like Chris Farley, Mike Myers, and Adam Sandler had recently left the cast, while Ferrell arrived as part of a crop of newcomers like Darrell Hammond and Cheri Oteri who were about to make a name for themselves. The first episode aired on September 30, 1995, and it was hosted by Mariel Hemingway, who at the time was starring in the primetime soap opera Central Park West, aka C.P.W. (And in case her last name has you curious, yes, you probably did read her grandfather's novels when you were in high school.)

In a sketch entitled "Get Off the Shed," Ferrell wasted no time establishing one of his trademark character types: the seemingly well-adjusted suburban dad with boiling rage simmering just below the surface. He and Hemingway play a couple hosting their neighbors (played by David Koechner and Nancy Walls) for a cookout. The interactions between the adults are perfectly pleasant. But with the offscreen, unseen children, it's another story. Ferrelll's promises of violence are terrifying, but his smiling exterior makes for the ideal comedic juxtaposition.

Will Ferrell is largely known for playing belligerent man-children whose confidence overshadows their ability to an absurd degree, but he's also brilliant when it comes to inhabiting characters who are intelligent enough to understand they're surrounded by buffoons — and are just barely controlled enough to keep it together in the face of steadily mounting lunacy. If you've seen any of the hilarious "SNL" skits that imagined a world in which "Celebrity Jeopardy!" forced host Alec Trebek (played by Ferrell) to tolerate a parade of famous morons led by the unaccountably antagonistic Sean Connery (Darrell Hammond), you know exactly what we mean. Ferrell doesn't often play straight man, which is a shame — Hammond's Connery produced most of this recurring bit's biggest laughs, but they wouldn't have been half as funny if he hadn't been playing off Ferrell's steadily mounting exasperation anchored by a desperate need to believe that someway, somehow, a single one of his contestants might someday manage to play the game correctly.

This is one of those sketches that has you wondering what the hell the "SNL" writers were smoking when they came up with it. Ferrell plays a medical professional who goes by the name of "Dr. Beaman" just minding his own business in his office. It all starts innocently enough, as he welcomes Tom and Kathy Framingham (Chris Parnell, Molly Shannon) to check on the status of their newborn baby. But then it gets derailed pretty much immediately, as he takes a personal phone call and assures his friend on the other end that he's got "all the time in the world." It doesn't get much better for the Framinghams after that, as Dr. Beaman insults them at every opportunity and informs them that their son is a witch and/or missing.

It all goes off the rails when Tim Meadows pops in for a few seconds as "Dr. Stephen Poop," which results in Ferrell and Shannon uncontrollably corpsing (i.e., laughing in the middle of the scene). But Ferrell's a comedy legend, so he powers through his loss of composure and continues to spin the tale of the unfortunate case of the Framinghams' son. Who else could make child endangerment this hilarious?

Will Ferrell's George W. Bush is quite possibly the best political impression in the history of "SNL." (Tina Fey's Sarah Palin and Dana Carvey's George H.W. Bush are probably his stiffest competition.) Ferrell played the 43rd president in dozens of sketches, but none of them are anywhere near as iconic as the first presidential debate sketch from October 2000.

You probably remember the word that Bush used to sum up his campaign strategy and his pained facial expressions at the names of European leaders. But a little lesser-appreciated is the blink-and-you-miss-it moment when he nods approvingly at the mention of a racy TV show featuring a crew of Penthouse Pets. "SNL" has made a tradition out of airing high-profile debate sketches every election year, but none of the 21st century efforts have reached the same heights as "lockbox" and "strategery."

Here's yet another Will Ferrell impression that's arguably become more famous than the real McCoy, at least among comedy buffs who avoid sports like the plague. And also like Robert Goulet, Ferrell's loopy rendition of longtime MLB broadcaster Harry Caray eventually wandered out of the halls of Rockefeller Center.

At the 1998 ESPYs (hosted by Ferrell's "SNL" co-star, the late great Norm Macdonald), Caray wandered out in a daze, apparently under the belief that he was attending the Academy Awards. He then proceeded to roast every athlete in his crosshairs, including such massive figures as John Elway, Tiger Woods, and Ken Griffey Jr. The crowd lapped it up, but not everyone was a fan. USA Today's Michael Hiestand panned the moment as a "low point" in the ceremony (via Sports Business Journal). Meanwhile, Ferrell's zinger about Super Bowl winner Elway's teeth stung so hard that, as Ferrell revealed on an episode of the podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend," it was apparently talked about at ESPN for decades afterward. (via Showbiz Cheat Sheet).

The 2003 Christmas classic "Elf" is perhaps the ideal version of one of Will Ferrell's main character types: the Overgrown Childlike Bundle of Joy. There are plenty of hilarious and heartwarming scenes in this Jon Favreau-directed flick that's become a holiday tradition. But there's one moment that only lasts about 20 seconds that's a perfect distillation of the appeal.

As Buddy the Elf is walking around the streets of New York City for the first time, he encounters a sign advertising the "World's Best Cup of Coffee." Despite the hyperbole, it's a fairly standard storefront claim, but Buddy is too delightfully naïve to realize that. We should all be able to take a cue from this Christmas lover and be able to celebrate discoveries like this one every day. It takes someone special to sell guilelessness like that and make it so appealing.

If back in 2005 you were trying to decide whether or not to buy a ticket to "Wedding Crashers," the combination of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson was probably already appealing enough. Rachel McAdams and Isla Fisher emerging early in their careers was a nice bonus, but an even more surprising bonus happened when a certain funnyman emerged for a cameo toward the end.

Throughout much of the film, Wilson's John and Vaughn's Jeremy talk in glowing terms about a guy named Chazz Reinhold, the legend of all legends in the field of wedding crashing. When Chazz finally emerges from the shadows, we discover that he's played by none other than Will Ferrell. Sure, it's a bummer that he still lives with his mom, but be honest with yourself: how often do you know to shout "Ma! The meatloaf!" in everyday conversation?

Before Adam McKay started focusing his filmmaking attention to Oscar-chasing satires like The Big Short and Vice, he was directing Will Ferrell classics like Anchorman and Talladega Nights. Then in 2007, the two of them teamed up for perhaps their most ambitious venture yet when they co-founded Funny or Die. The site's first video arrived in April of that year and in just two and a half minutes, it immediately christened Funny or Die as a major player in the comedy world.

It begins innocuously enough with Ferrell pouring himself some sparkling water and McKay reading an issue of Vogue. But then terror arrives in the form of Ferrell's landlord, played by McKay's then-2-year-old daughter Pearl. Pearl's performance is hilarious in the way that little kids acting like adults often are, and Ferrell is the perfect scene partner for her. He never once questions the absurd reality of a toddler landlord. With his tears of panic and insistence that she needs help with her drinking, we quickly get a full sense of this strange reality.

The 2008 Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly teamup "Step Brothers" is an exercise in extremes. But amidst the broken beds and shattered glass at the Catalina Wine Mixer, a more tender and intimate moment sticks out.

40-year-old step-bros Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly) get off to a rocky start when their parents first get together, but soon enough, they're inseparable friends who have decided to go into business together. But first, Dale needs to hear Brennan sing. Ferrell had already shown off his mighty fine vocal chops to comedic effect plenty of times before in his career, but it's still chilling when he busts out a note-perfect rendition of Bonnie Raitt's blues rock classic "Something to Talk About." It's hilarious, AND worthy of a spot on the Billboard charts.

Few Will Ferrell characters have had quite the long-lasting impact left by Ron Burgundy. He's played the newsman a number of times outside the two "Anchorman" films, and he even hosts his own podcast. In August 2019, Ferrell pulled off the seemingly impossible by promoting the podcast's second season by appearing as Burgundy on six different talk shows in one night (via Deadline). He performed some prop comedy on "Conan" and some non-prop-based comedy on "Colbert," "Corden," "Kimmel," and "Fallon."

But the coup de grȃce has to be his ventriloquy act on "Late Night with Seth Meyers." His dummy is a plaid-wearing, tatted-up hipster named J.J. who sends Ron into a fit of rage after one too many insults. If you can watch Will Ferrell despair at the apparent death of a puppet and not think of him as one of the funniest people of all time, then you must have forgotten how to keep it classy.

If you're a regular viewer of talk shows, you were probably pretty excited when you saw that Will Ferrell was booked for "The Tonight Show" in November 2021 to promote his Apple TV+ series "The Shrink Next Door." But then you discovered, much to your disappointment, Ryan Reynolds' smirking mug instead. How could this be?

As it turned out, Reynolds and Ferrell had teamed up to pull off the ol' switcheroo, as the latter took over the former's spot on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Ferrell went ahead and promoted Reynolds' new Netflix movie, "Red Notice," even though he's not in it and hadn't seen "a stitch of it." If you're familiar with Ferrell's 2013 Golden Globes appearance, you know he's the master at hyping up movies he knows nothing about, and he once again delivered a hilarious serving of nothing. After many years of chuckles, guffaws, and belly laughs, we eagerly await whatever this comedy genius still has in store for us.