On Saturday Night Live, cast members like Will Ferrell only come around once every 20 years. I'm not sure there's been such a breakout star on the late-night sketch comedy staple since the days of a young Eddie Murphy in the early '80s; not only did Ferrell go on to become arguably the biggest comedy film star in the country, but during his time on SNL was seemingly written into every single sketch. The show revolved around him, but you never felt any vanity coming through -- his presence at the center of just about every sketch seemed less a product of his own selfishness than of the writers' desire to write material for him (which, I'm guessing, was both a lot of fun and a great way to make sure your stuff got on the air). During his time on the show, he created more memorable sketches and characters than maybe anyone else in the show's history, and a lot of those are represented on Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell.
Best of Will Ferrell DVD Sketches
- Marty and Bobby: Drug Awareness Assembly
- Behind the Music: Blue Oyster Cult
- Dissing Your Dog (commercial)
- Spartan Cheerleaders: Chess Tournament
- Robert Goulet: Coconut Banger's Ball
- Clips: Patriotic thong/Tiny cell phone/Giving birth
- Jeopardy: French Stewart, Burt Reynolds & Sean Connery
- Inside the Actor's Studio: Charles Nelson Reilly
- The Devil & Garth Brooks
- Clips: George W. Bush/Janet Reno boxing/Saddam's new beret
- Harry Caray: Space, the Infinite Frontier
- Hot Tub Lovers
- Roxbury Dancers
- Clips: Morning Latte/Dog Show
- Nude Model
- Family Dinner
- Weekend Update: Jacob Silj
If there's a disappointment to The Best of Will Ferrell, its that one DVD can't possibly include every great sketch and character that Ferrell performed on Saturday Night Live. There will be, no doubt, plenty of fans who pick up the DVD and are furious to find out that their favorite sketches are nowhere to be found (this has been rectified somewhat by the release of two subsequent "Best Of" DVDs). And, actually, this disc plays it a little safe, going with only the most obvious sketches and leaving out some of the more creative and stranger pieces the comedian did on the show. Because so many of these sketches were repeated for years on the show (how many "Cheerleader" and "Jeopardy!" sketches did we see?), they feel way too familiar here. Yes, there's the occasional underrated gem ("The Devil and Garth Brooks" is a good one, as is the piece where Ferrell and his family seethe over dinner), but for the most part we can all recite these sketches from memory. That doesn't make them bad, just overly familiar.
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell isn't the kind of DVD that I could watch from start to finish very often -- I've seen these sketches just too many times -- but it is a great resource to have in your comedy library. Anytime you've got a fever for more cowbell, you know you've got the prescription close at hand.
DVD Details
- Release Date: 7/13/10
- Running Time: 70 minutes
- Full Frame
- Dolby 2.0 Stereo (English)
DVD Bonus Features
- Will Ferrell Audition Footage
- Dress Rehearsal Sketch: Prospector in the Army
- Outtakes and Bloopers
- Two Late Night with Conan O'Brien Appearances
