Will Ferrell was in that one good movie.

Somewhere along the way we as Americans have collectively decided that Will Ferrell is funny. This must be the result of mass delerium or mental suggestion because, as far as I can tell, there’s no evidence to suggest that he’s anything even close to funny. It’s almost as though someone redefined the word “funny” to mean “loud and obnoxious”.

I might be perpetuating an unfair personal bias, here; Will Ferrell isn’t funny, therefore I haven’t gone out of my way to see many Will Ferrell movies, therefore I don’t have much personal experience upon which to draw the conclusion that Will Ferrell isn’t funny. I suppose I just solidified my opinion on Will Ferrell’s funniness (or lack thereof) during my adolescence when I used to watch him on Saturday Night Live where he was (altogether now) not funny. Most of his movies since have looked to me like 100-minute long SNL sketches, so I’ve avoided them.

(Yes, I’ve seen the cowbell sketch. I don’t get it. If there’s anything even remotely chuckle-worthy about that bit it’s Christopher Walken, who is funny, albeit in a slightly unsettling way.)

That said, I’ve seen one Will Ferrell movie which is not only funny, but clever and well-written to boot: Stranger Than Fiction. In this movie Will Ferrell plays a monumentally boring IRS agent who dresses plainly, has no obnoxious mannerisms and doesn’t shout at people. In other words, he doesn’t play Will Ferrell.

So while Will Ferrell may not be funny, it turns out he is talented… he just has to be given the right role. Somewhere in his repotoire underneath “bellow in monotone” and “grin stupidly” is a perfectly convincing buckle-down straight-man. There is one scene in the movie where he goes a little crazy, shouting to himself and destroying things in his apartment — the type of thing you’re more accustomed to seeing in a Will Ferrell movie. But in this movie there’s a reason for his temper tantrum. It was written in service to the plot and the development of his character rather than as a cheap way to grab a few laughs from the audience.

Of course Stranger Than Fiction was a couple years ago, and I don’t think he’s done anything quite this grown-up since. Sadly, he can probably make more money with a single scene wearing stained underwear than he could with five Stranger Than Fictions. Wit always loses out to poop jokes at the box office.

Hmm… I wonder if anyone’s ever tried to write a witty poop joke.