will ferrell | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Casa De Mi Padre

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012. It was the first “surprise” film.

Will Ferrell’s Casa De Mi Padre is perhaps the most esoterical comedy ever produced. The comedian has his legion of loyal fans, but it’s difficult to imagine that there’s a large crossover between those who enjoy Ferrell’s work and those with an affection for Mexican telenovelas. Filmed in “Mexico Vision”, with pretty much all of the dialogue in Spanish (rather than, as one DEA agent puts it, “American”), the movie displays an astonishing commitment to its basic premise, which is effectively one joke sustained over its runtime. I can sense already that Ferrell’s latest project will be his most divisive to date, dividing film fans into “love it” or “hate it” camps. I fall strongly into the former.

A que no me alcanzas!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: business, Casa de Mi Padre, Ferrell, film, Gloucestershire, Illegal drug trade, jameson dublin international film festival, lars von trier, Meta-joke, Mexican people, Mexico, Movie, non-review review, prison, review, Spanish, Spanish language, Sunglasses, Terrence Malick, United States, will ferrell | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Old School

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Darren

It’s tempting to look back at Old School in the wake of the massive success of The Hangover and claim “I saw Todd Phillips’ potential first!” After all, massive critical, commercial and audience hits don’t come out of nowhere, and the early work of a given director should probably give some indication of their hidden talent. However, I don’t really see too much of The Hangover in Old School, a film that I like, even if I don’t love it. There are a few similarities in content and structure, but I still can’t see anything in the film that would have led to me to “keep an eye” on Phillips. It’s a solid fratboy comedy, but it’s not anywhere near a classic.

Ferrell was on a hot streak when this came out...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 40 Year Old Virgin, Ellen Pompeo, film, Hangover, Jeremy Piven, Luke Wilson, Movie, non-review review, Old School, review, Todd Phillips, Vince Vaughn, will ferrell | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Talladega Nights – The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Darren

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is not as good as Anchorman. That said, this reunion of Will Ferrell with Adam McKay has its charm – helped along by the fact that its comedy is framed inside a wonderful little story, and acted out by all manner of skilled performers. I think, if anything, the movie stands as a testament to the huge difference that a sympathetic and engaging protagonist and strong supporting cast can make to a comedy.

A breath of fresh air...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adam mckay, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, business, gary cole, john c. reilly, Leslie Bibb, Nashville Superspeedway, non-review review, Pat Benatar, product placement, review, Step Brothers (film), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, will ferrell | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Other Guys

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Darren

Have you ever watched Lethal Weapon and wondered what the cops in that precinct who aren’t Riggs and Murtagh get up to? Or watched Die Hard and wondered what John McClane’s deskmate might have been like? Well then, The Other Guys is the movie for you.

Top of the cops?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Al Gore, comedy, Damon Wayans, Departed, financial crisis, Financial crisis of 2007–2010, mark wahlberg, Movie, non-review review, Other Guys, review, samuel l. jackson, steve coogan, the other guys, will ferrell | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Land of the Lost

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Darren

What an odd film. Part buddy comedy, part adventure movie parody, Land of the Lost is a chronic mess of a film. However, I see cult appeal looming on the horizon. At the very least, it should become a solid stoner movie.

The only thing scary than one lumbering extra in a fake-looking reptile costume is five lumbering extras in fake-looking reptile costumes...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: anna friel, camp, comedy, danny mcbride, film, kitsch, land of the lost, Movie, non-review review, review, will ferrell | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Step-Brothers

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Darren

Is just me, or are the Judd Atapow machine comedies getting crasser and crasser? Sure, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up weren’t exactly incredibly clean pieces of comedy, but they certanly demonstrated far more maturity than most of the recent output from that particular comedy factory – for better or worse. It’s just hard to find bodily function jokes and profanity funny for their own sake, and – if that is the measure of humour these days – that sort of humour is a dime-a-dozen these days. That’s not to say that Step-Brothers is entirely without charm (it has more than a few engaging moments), but just that it seems to think that appealing to the lowest common denominator is a legitimate form of comedy when it can’t think of anything better to do.