The Charge

Um, Will Ferrell is godlike?

Opening Statement

The funniest part of Saturday Night Live continues to get recognition with this second installment of his "best of" material. Or, the studio recognizes he's a major movie star and looks to cash in. But that can't be it, can it?

Facts of the Case

Will Ferrell was the go-to guy on SNL for seven years. Now he's embarking on a Hollywood career that is about to explode. But before Ron Burgundy or Frank the Tank or any of the trillions of cameos, there was "that crazy guy who yells a lot and isn't afraid to walk around in a thong."

He did other stuff, too.

Much of it is chronicled in this second "Best Of" installment. Included on this disc is nearly 80 minutes of vintage Ferrell action, including skits you'll immediately recognize (crazy doctor), skits you may not have seen, and some you definitely will not have seen.

So sit back and enjoy—a decent amount of his memorable characters are present and accounted for (with some noticeable, and lamentable, exceptions).

The Evidence

I love Will Ferrell. He was by far the best part of SNL during his seven year run. This is ironic, as I distinctly recall sitting in my college dorm room, watching the season premiere of the 1997-98 season, and thinking "this Will Ferrell guy sucks." Well, he quickly changed that mindset, and these days you could probably even get me to watch a remake of Sherlock: Undercover Dog if Ferrell was in it.

Now that the guy is on a pretty decent roll with his movie career (though I have to admit I wasn't completely blown away with Elf, which got cheesy and surreal at the end, or with Anchorman—a funny movie, sure, but not nearly the masterpiece some overeager folks would have us believe) there will certainly be no shortage of Ferrell in the future. In fact, if you check what the guy is up to via IMDb, you can see he's got quite a docket ahead of him.

That's good news for planet Earth.

But let's hearken back to the early days, to see what started it all.

This disc contains some serious gems. I must admit that I didn't see the first edition, but seeing what was omitted here, I'm tempted to go pick it up. But no use in lamenting what I didn't see—let's look at some of the highlights!

Most of Ferrell's memorable characters are present. There's the crazy doctor breaking character with Molly Shannon, James Lipton interviewing Drew Barrymore (a bullseye impression from Kate Hudson)—but Charles Nelson Reilly's session is still my favorite, Robert Goulet starring in his musical, and, of course, George W. Bush.

Throw in some other memorable skits…

• Will as a nauseous holiday singer
• Will as an actor on the receiving end of relentless gonad punishment
• Will as Janet Reno
• Will as an insane office manager prone to violence with a trident
• Will as a frat boy commentator on weekend update
• Will as a psychotic early morning show host
• Will as half of Air Supply
• Will as the over-patriotic office worker wearing (you guessed it) a thong

…and you got yourself a winner of a disc. Plus more!

Surprisingly—and thankfully—there was no sign of his "cheerleader" sketch with Cheri Oteri, by far my least-favorite of his recurring characters.

The disc looks good enough for what it is, a clip show. Full frame video and 2.0 stereo sound are the norm, and are adequate enough. Some nifty little extras include two never-before-seen sketches from dress rehearsals, a photo gallery, and two hilarious appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Besides Harry, where's Alex Trebek or Neil Diamond? I wanted more and better in place of some of the other stuff. Oh well, I guess I have to stick to E! for reruns. Sigh.

Closing Statement

This disc is a no-brainer for Will Ferrell fans. By the way—that should be everybody in the world.

The Verdict

Guilty of leaving too little to the imagination in that "Patriotic Day at the Office" sketch…but beyond that, no complaints from the bench.

Similar Decisions

• Cold Feet
• Saving Silverman
• Half Baked: Fully Baked Edition
• Crank Yankers Uncensored: Season Two, Volume One

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