An Open Letter to Will Ferrell
Thursday, March 6th, 2008Dear Will,
Hi. It’s me. Daniel. Before I go any further, I’d like to offer my condolences over Semi-Pro. Everyone was predicting about $30 million for opening weekend, and you did about half that. These are record-low numbers, (for your standards), and that must be pretty tough for you. It probably even comes as a surprise. Being the arrogant, delusional man-child has always resulted in big numbers for you in the past, and I’m sure you thought Semi-Pro would just be another huge victory. And after all that promotion you did, with the Superbowl Ad, and the Sports Illustrated Spread, and the Old Spice stuff- you must be crushed.
I watched Semi-Pro yesterday. It wasn’t very good. I chuckled a few times, sure, there were some really great moments. I’ve always been a sucker for bears. A well-placed scream can often yield hilarious results, and you also have an amazing knack for picking out words that, somehow, are just inherently funny, (this time it was “pancakes.” You said “pancake” and I almost pissed myself.). In general, however, it was as weak as I’d expected it to be. Each movie of yours since Anchorman has been a derivative of Anchorman, and a poor one at that.
Talladega Nights was pretty good, Blades of Glory was worse and in Semi-Pro, it just looked like you were trying too hard to do a “Will Ferrell Movie.” It seemed like everybody involved –the writer, the supporting cast, even Woody Harrelson (as Owen Wilson) — was just sitting back, expecting you to work some of that “Ferrell Magic” that’s worked so well in the past. The formula, (Will Ferrell plays an overly confident, loud-mouthed buffoon with an interesting hairstyle), has always worked, and maybe that’s the problem. It’s worked too well, and too many times. We’ve seen it. We’ve loved it.
But we’re not stupid. We won’t keep paying for the same show over and over again. We’re ready for what else you have.
Don’t confuse this with some of the other backlash you might read. This isn’t some snarky, “I’ve-always-hated-Will-anyway” kind of letter. Those letters are out there, but this isn’t one of them. I don’t think you’re overrated. I don’t think you’re a one-trick pony. I haven’t been sitting around waiting for you to fail. I’m a fan, Will. I really am. And, as a fan, I think I can speak for a whole lot of folks when I say “We miss you.”
(more…)