You Stay Classy, Will Ferrell

Yesterday I saw an article of the top 10 Will Ferrell movies as based on their rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I love Rotten Tomatoes very dearly for many things, but properly assessing comedy movies isn't one of them. To put in perspective how insane the freshness rating scale is for comedy ANCHORMAN DIDN'T MAKE THE TOP 10 FERRELL MOVIES. I can only think a few movies more important to comedy in the past 20 years than that one. So here is my revised list. For this list I considered the 16 Will Ferrell movies I had seen. This includes one miniseries and two animated movies, but you'll have to wait and see if they made the list. So here we go!

10. The LEGO Movie: Rotten Tomatoes has this number one because it has 96% freshness. I think It's almost cheating to have it on the list at all, because it's not a Will Ferrell movie. I see that as a specific genre of comedy, and this doesn't follow that formula. It feels a lot more like Miller and Lord's other movies 21/22 Jumpstreet. But I digress. I really, REALLY love the LEGO Movie, but not as a Will Ferrell movie.

9. Semi-Pro: A lot of people don't like this movie very much, but I thought it was really funny. The story is not as clever as some of his other movies, but Ferrell and Woody Harrelson deliver winning performances. Plus it has the best last line of a movie ever: "It's like the Titanic, but with bears!"

8. Stranger than Fiction: I haven't seen this one in a while, but remember liking it quite a bit. It has been favorably compared to Truman Show in that it is a straight drama for a primarily comedic actor, but I hated Truman Show so I don't think of it that way. Ferrell does a really good making an average Joe memorable and someone you cheer for. If you haven't seen this one, check it out as good, simple drama.

7. Kicking and Screaming: Will Ferrell has made only two comedies for kids: this one and Elf. When I was growing up I watched both of these movie a LOT of times. They allowed me a taste of real comedy before I was old enough to embrace it. That said I think Kicking and Screaming can rightly rank with the big boys of Ferrell's sports-based comedies. I put it second only to...

6. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby: This movie is so side-splittingly funny. Unlike many Ferrell movies, this one has a really good supporting cast behind him led by John C Riley. It made you want them to make more movies together (which they did later on this list). This movie has so many memorable moments that it is difficult to sum up its greatness. For many comedic actors a movie like Talladega Nights would be the peak of their career.

5. The Spoils of Babylon: This is a miniseries that aired last year on IFC (a network I will talk about more in the near future), but I still count it here because it REALLY felt like a Will Ferrell movie. The runtime is 2 hours for the series, so there is no unfair advantage. In this Ferrell plays Eric Jonrosh, a washed up best-selling author presenting to us the film adaptation of his book. Other than Ron Burgundy and maybe Ricky Bobby, this is Jonrosh the best character Ferrell has played.

4. Elf: I really don't like Elf as much as the movies I placed in spots 5-7, but Elf did push the genre of Christmas movies forward a significant amount.  Plus it helped launch Zooey Deschanel and for that I am thankful. Elf ranks as a top-5 Christmas movie, so I thought it should rank highly here too. Also like Kicking and Screaming it has a special place in my childhood, but please know I don't really think it's better than Talladega Nights.

3. Step Brothers: I'm really happy this movie exists because it put Ferrell and Riley back together again with an R-rated script and let them, quit literally, run and play with it. While probably not as memorable as some other Ferrell movies, it is as funny as any of them based on that undeniable chemistry between the leads. Andy Samberg is also an absolute gem in his limited role as a brother.

2. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: I'm attending college in the 2010s, but I'm certain Anchorman's legacy has not faded since its release. A week doesn't go by without hearing MANY quotes and references to this movie. The sequel wasn't great, but at the same time it was because it pulled on Anchorman so much. In terms of a winning cast, I can't think of any comedy movies that have ever assembled a better collection of leads than Ferrel, Steve Carrell, Christina Applegate, David Koechner and Paul Rudd. And that is not even to mention others like Vince Vaughn and Chris Parnell. Decades from now Will Ferrell's legacy will be based largely on SNL and this role.

1. The Other Guys: I think Ferrell is so freaking great in this movie, because his character is really different than the bombastic personalities in his other movies. Simply he plays a good desk clerk turned high-profile cop. Here Ferrell is opposite Mark Whalberg and the chemistry is magic. This movie is just the right blend of absurd and hilarious.  This is my go-to Will Ferrell movie when I really need a laugh.

And there you have it. In making that list I realized the greatness of Ferrell's movies rests heavily on his co-star. This gives me hope for Ride Along, but only time will tell. If Ride Along isn't great, Kevin Hart might want to stick to stand-up, because if that premise and Ferrell's acting opposite you can't make you great, you aren't a very good actor. This week was weird for me with Spring Break and family drama, but I'll try and post more next week. Until then, you stay classy, internet.