Will Ferrell has been taking a break from being Will Ferrell. It’s been three years since he’s foisted one of those questionable sports comedies on us and in the interim, the destined for comedy hall of fame funnyman has gotten more creative and delivered some of the funniest work of his career. He’s done it by abandoning the one man band approach to making comedy and teamed up as part of an ensemble or duo with another talented performer. Step Brothers, for instance, is brilliant. That movie doesn’t get enough credit. Or better still he’s shown up in strange little cameos, popping up for a couple of episodes on The Office or hanging out on Eastbound & Down as a silver-haired car dealer. Will Ferrell has never been better.
Unfortunately it looks like the golden age of Ferrell is almost over, and he may be going back to the well. NY Mag says the football comedy Will has been prepping is working on hiring a director. Frequent Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay is in talks to direct him in the movie, which at one point they were calling Turkey Bowl but now they’re titling Three Mississippi. Ok I’ll give them this much, that new title’s hilarious.
Adam McKay’s involvement is good news, since his track record with Ferrell is basically perfection. Their three movies together are also three of Ferrell’s funniest in Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, and Anchorman. Better still they’re categorizing this more as an ensemble than a Will Ferrell solo project, and as we’ve already pointed out, that’s been working well for him lately. The movie, which teams Ferrell back up with his Other Guys buddy Mark Wahlberg, follows neighboring families who do battle in an annual Thanksgiving game of full tackle football on their front lawns. So while this is another Ferrell sports movie, at least it’s a Ferrell sports movie with a twist. Done right this could end up being less about the sport than about competitive neighbors, and that sounds like something pretty good.
While you count to three Mississippi waiting for Ferrell’s new sports comedy, we still have his Spanish language movie Casa de mi Padre to look forward to. The golden age of Will Ferrell may be ending, but as long as there’s a chance I may see him wearing a sombrero on top of a donkey, it’s not over yet.
