For more than two decades, Will Ferrell has proven over and over again that he’s one of the funniest men alive. First on Saturday Night Live and then eventually on the big screen, Ferrell has continued to find new ways to tell jokes. He’s also found a cadre of collaborators who are willing to be ridiculous right alongside him in some truly great comedies.
Ferrell has occasionally dipped his toes into more serious work as well, and those performances have always been interesting, even if they aren’t always great. This look at Will Ferrell’s best movies really displays the wide array of roles he’s fully capable of taking on.
If you’re looking for more great movies, check out our lists of the best George Clooney movies, the best Brad Pitt movies, or the best Jonah Hill movies.
10. Everything Must Go (2011)
97m
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Stars
Will Ferrell, C.J. Wallace, Rebecca Hall
Directed by
Dan Rush
One of Ferrell’s more serious performances, Everything Must Go tells the story of a salesman who realizes that his life is quite suddenly collapsing all around him. In an effort to regain some control over his life, Ferrell’s character holds a yard sale after his wife throws him out of the house. Ferrell is remarkably convincing as an overgrown child who has yet to get his life together, but what makes the movie work is his character’s fundamental decency underneath all the dysfunction.
9. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
119m
Genre
Comedy
Stars
Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd
Directed by
Adam McKay
Revisiting Anchorman for a sequel almost a decade later could have been a complete disaster. Instead, Anchorman 2 is filled with great jokes, even if it’s a little bit shaggier than the first installment. The movie definitely takes some odd zags, including an extended sequence in which Ron is blind. However, Anchorman 2 also offers some fairly trenchant observations about 24-hour news, which often involves saying things without actually knowing much about what’s going on.
8. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
106m
Genre
Comedy
Stars
Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan
Directed by
Adam McKay
An excellent send-up of NASCAR and the red-state culture that goes along with it, Talladega Nights is never heavy handed in its more satirical elements. Instead, Ferrell and frequent collaborator Adam McKay craft one of the funniest sports comedies ever made, following NASCAR sensation Ricky Bobby as he loses everything and is forced to eat a big slice of humble pie. Talladega Nights is also proof that Ferrell and John C. Reilly make a great team, and this is not the last time they’ll unite on this list.
7. Zoolander (2001)
90m
Genre
Comedy
Stars
Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor
Directed by
Ben Stiller
Villainous Will Ferrell roles are a special subset of his performances, and Zoolander may be the best of the bunch. As Mugatu, Ferrell is unafraid of going big, and it pays off. Mugatu is part of an evil ring dedicated to finding a model who can be brainwashed into assassinating a progressive prime minister in Malaysia who is threatening the cheap child labor the fashion industry uses there. It’s a shockingly biting bit of comedy, perfectly balanced by Ferrell’s utterly farcical performance.
6. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
113m
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Stars
Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman
Directed by
Marc Forster
Perhaps Ferrell’s most successful overtly dramatic turn to date, Stranger Than Fiction follows an auditor for the IRS who realizes that his life is being influenced by some disembodied narrator. Eventually, he discovers that he has been doomed to death by this narrator, who believes that she is writing a work of fiction but is actually changing people’s lives in the process. It’s a strange but often life-affirming concept, and Ferrell is great in the lead role as a man leading an unremarkable life who nevertheless wants to keep living more than anything.
5. The Other Guys (2010)
107m
Genre
Comedy, Action, Crime
Stars
Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes
Directed by
Adam McKay
Any honest list of Ferrell’s best movies is going to be heavy on his collaborations with Adam McKay, but not without good reason; all the movies they’ve made together are excellent. In The Other Guys, Ferrell stars as one half of a mismatched buddy cop duo who are unraveling a minor case as it turns into what could be a vast conspiracy. What really makes the movie work, though, is all the jokes. The Other Guys is a little bit about the financial crimes that toppled the economy, but mostly, it’s just proof that Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are an excellent comedic duo.
4. Step Brothers (2008)
98m
Genre
Comedy
Stars
Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen
Directed by
Adam McKay
Sometimes, all a movie really needs is lots and lots of great jokes. Step Brothers is one of the more vulgar movies Ferrell has ever made, and it also may be the funniest. Playing a large adult son before there was even a word for such a thing, Step Brothers follows Ferrell’s character as he develops a rivalry — and eventually, a friendship — with another large adult son played by John C. Reilly. In reality, though, the plot of Step Brothers is just an excuse for some of the funniest jokes ever told in a movie.
3. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
95m
Genre
Comedy
Ferrell’s most iconic collaboration with McKay is probably still their best. Ron Burgundy may be the most indelible character of Ferrell’s career, so much so that he has brought him back in a wide variety of settings in the years since the movie was released. Featuring some of the funniest comedians in Hollywood, Anchorman became totemic for an entire generation of 13-year-olds who still think that San Diego translates to “whale’s vagina.”
2. Elf (2003)
97m
Genre
Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Stars
Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart
Directed by
Jon Favreau
Ferrell can definitely do the R-rated stuff, but Elf is all the proof you need to see that he can be just as funny without any sex jokes. Playing Buddy the elf, a human who winds up being raised by Santa’s elves, Ferrell is all light and enthusiasm, so much so that he becomes infectious to everyone around him. Elf is a story about Christmas spirit, and it feels like the kind of movie that few people besides Ferrell could have sold. It’s funny, sentimental, but never corny, and it’s become a genuine Christmas classic in the 20 years since it hit theaters.
1. The Lego Movie (2014)
100m
Genre
Animation, Family, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Stars
Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell
Directed by
Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Even if we’d only ever gotten Ferrell’s villainous turn as Lord Business, The Lego Movie probably still would have made the list. What makes The Lego Movie great is the surprising shift it takes to live action in its last 20 minutes. Ferrell’s Lord Business is just a stand-in for a worn-out dad who wants his kid to leave his Legos alone. The movie’s resolution doesn’t come when Lord Business is defeated. Instead, it comes when Ferrell’s character realizes that his son is the one who is using the Legos right, and then he decides to join in on the play.
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