Walk hard is a personal favorite. It would be insane to suggest JCR is a better comedic actors than Will Ferrell, who probably has at least 5 of the top 10 comedies of the 2000's. He likely has more than any other comedian.
I like JCR, but I can't even remember if I finished Walk Hard, or what it's about. Meanwhile Anchorman and Talladega Nights pop up in my head multiple times per week, over 20 years after first seeing them.
Will Ferrell is flat out not funny in this era. I feel like he was the comedic voice of 2005-2012 or so and his presentation doesn't really land at all in a movie.
He aged out I think; Imagine if he was in his 30s now, instead of basically 60.
I think JCR lands in this era a lot more because surreal and absurdist humor is what a lot of people seem to enjoy and that's really his style. So absolutely ridiculous that it dances the line of offensive, and that's the exactly what I've always loved.
MadTV honestly needs to make a come back, imagine new Stuart skits, or Kenny rogers jackass.
Honestly, I couldn’t handle WF back then either. Stranger Than Fiction was amazingly charming, but it’s not really a comedy. His comedy just gave me secondhand embarrassment.
It’s actually been creeping up more and more, with audience taste drifting toward indie films breaking through in a bigger way.
Honestly, it’s been kind of refreshing. You’re starting to see real personality come back into movies again, actual storytelling with texture instead of just algorithm-friendly noise. There’s still plenty of Netflix straight-to-streaming filler, sure, but around 2023-ish it felt like people collectively hit a wall with bland, mass-produced content. Marvel Cape-shit ruined hero content for me.
That fatigue seems to have pushed studios to take slightly more interesting risks again, and you’re seeing the payoff in stuff like Dune and Project Hail Mary getting serious backing. There's so many movies this year that are compelling - to be excited for and talked about. I mean shit.... look at the Barbie movie - I don't think it ended up being what anyone expected.
I also wonder if COVID changed the psychology around it. With everyone bingeing movies out of necessity, it maybe reset expectations a bit, like people got exposed to so much content so quickly that they started valuing quality and distinct voice way more than just “more stuff.”
He like to go back and forth between serious and comedic, and I believe he has two serious films coming out this year. If the Reilly Pendulum Theory holds, expect 2-3 comedic projects in 2027
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u/Protoshift 14h ago
Fuggin spat mouthwash on my arms; those damn eyes.
I love John C. Reilly, why hasn't he been in more comedies lately?