Cringey Kamala Videos And Road Trips: What Happened To Will Ferrell?

“Saturday Night Live” alum Will Ferrell made some of the best 21st century comedies even better.

“Old School.” “Anchorman.” “Elf.” “Step Brothers.” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” He only had a cameo in “Wedding Crashers,” but boy, did he make every second count.

Now? He’s adrift in an industry that no longer craves R-rated comedies, at least the ones that leave the lectures off screen. He’s pushed his liberal leanings to center stage, from his election pandering to a documentary that ignores the real concerns tied to the trans community.

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in “Talladega Nights: The Ballard of Ricky Bobby.” (2006). Columbia Pictures. Relativity Media. Apatow Productions. IMDB.

At 57, he has plenty of time to course correct and prove he’s got a killer third act within him. For now, all we can do is re-watch his classic comedies and hope he breaks free from that Hollywood groupthink.

At least a little.

The comic actor’s “SNL” run (1994-2001) gave us indelible characters like his Harry Caray impersonation, cheerleader Craig Buchanan and Steve Butabi (that Roxbury guy). He quickly found his footing on the big screen, partnering with director Adam McKay for smashes like “Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights” and “Step Brothers.”

The hits slowed down in the 2010s. Films like “The Campaign” (2012), “Zoolander 2” (2016) and “The House” (2017) failed to break out.

The culture curdled around that time, witness the shrieking reaction to his successful buddy comedy “Get Hard” (2015). The film earned an impressive $90 million, but critics complained the film’s premise was problematic. Ferrell plays an ignorant white-collar criminal who hires a black blue-collar Joe (Kevin Hart) to prepare him for a stint in the hoosegow.

The writing was on the wall, both for Ferrell’s comedy opportunities and the industry’s bawdy, R-rated romps.

Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell in “Get Hard.” (2015). Gary Sanchez Productions. Warner Bros. IMDB.

The 2020s found him appearing in smaller films and adding his voice to wacky fare (“Strays”) that got lost in the marketplace. He snagged a bona fide blockbuster with “Barbie” (2023), but his work in the film amounted to a cameo that hardly boosted the film.

His Apple TV+ comedy musical “Spirited,” a leading man role alongside Ryan Reynolds, hardly captured the zeitgeist.

The other side of Ferrell’s brand started to make itself known along the way. Sure, he imitated President George W. Bush during his “SNL” stint, but the impression seemed good-natured, not vicious.

A subsequent project felt anything but gracious.

In 2016, word spread that Ferrell’s production shingle had acquired a buzzy script in which he’d play President Ronald Reagan in a “comedy” about the late leader’s Alzheimer’s disease.

The plot had Reagan completely checked out in his second term, thinking he was merely an actor going through the White House motions.

The script, by first-time feature writer Mike Rosolio, landed in ninth place on 2015’s Black List, having been singled out for praise by 25 Hollywood executives. It was popular enough in Hollywood circles that James Brolin, John Cho and Lena Dunham performed a live reading of the script last March.

The script, according to the reliably liberal Hollywood Reporter, was as hard-Left as anyone could image even if the site refused to label it as such. And, yes, it mocked Reagan as a dementia-addled fool.

Even the media at time, often blasé about attacks on the GOP, recoiled at the concept. Reagan’s grown children cried foul, too.

Ferrell swiftly dropped the project.

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It’s a minor miracle he didn’t suffer any professional fallout from the debacle. Perhaps his comedy canon offered him a measure of protection.

That may not be the case much longer.

More recently, he filmed a documentary tied to the current culture wars. “Will & Harper” follows Ferrell as he takes a road trip with his longtime friend and comic collaborator Harper Steele.

Delirio Films. Gloria Sanchez Productions. Wayfarer Studios. Harper Steele and Will Ferrell in “Will & Harper” (2024). IMDB.

Steele previously wrote for “SNL” and transitioned to a woman in recent years. The documentary captures that story, how Ferrell processed the change and finds them uncovering far more love than hate across America.

Yet Ferrell played dumb while promoting the movie, saying he didn’t understand why more people don’t accept the trans community. He blamed that on people’s lack of “confidence,” not real concerns about states allowing childhood transitions or sexualized affairs like Drag Queen Story Hours.

He even apologized for his old “SNL” bits where he impersonated Attorney General Janet Reno.

“That’s something I wouldn’t choose to do now,” adding the bit “hits a false note now.” Left unsaid? Today’s “SNL” uses female cast members to play male politicians without a hint of outrage.

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Ferrell also gave a generic apology to other “SNL” bits which may be deemed offensive in some quarters today.

In recent days Ferrell has teamed up with actor/activist Billy Eichner to revisit the gay comic’s “Billy on the Street” shtick. This time, they’re wearing “Loud White Men for Kamala” (Eichner’s shtick requires plenty of screaming) as they roam the streets of New York. 

Among the questions they asked passers by? “Would you have sex with a Trump voter?”

It’s unwise to count Ferrell out. His comic instincts remain sound, even if his industry struggles to adequately tap his skill set.

Still, Ferrell can ill afford to alienate any more audience members moving forward. He has no current comedy franchise to call his own. Big screen comedies in general are in short supply, and his most recent stabs at the format, like “Strays” and “Eurovision Song Contest” all came and went without making much cultural noise.

He’d be better off finding an independent film studio willing to let him be himself, the guy who once ruled the R-rated comedy scene. He could even bring it back to prominence, striking a blow against the woke mob that damaged his career in the first place.

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Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at HollywoodInToto.com.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.