ANN ARBOR – Most people can agree that seeing a truly funny comedy in the theater can be one of the most rewarding experiences as an audience member. It seems harder and harder to make reasonably good comedies these days, but when one comes along it tends to stick with you. Actors themselves are lucky if they are a part of one great comedy, let alone several, and even more so if they're closely linked with a particular character. Will Ferrell is an actor who has continued to prove himself with every new comedy he stars in, and throughout March the Michigan Theater is highlighting four of his truly great films as part of their "Ferrell Child" series: "Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy"; "Step Brothers"; "Zoolander"; and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."
To be fair, making only one selection is tough. Who doesn't love "Anchorman"? We also have to admit that "Step Brothers" grows on us even more with each passing year, and it was already perfect to begin with. "Zoolander," meanwhile, features a hilarious performance from Ferrell, but perhaps more notable is the appearance of one of our favorite actors, David Duchovny, as hand model J.P. Prewett. However, if we were only recommending one movie to see -- and really you should see all of them -- we would have to go with "Talladega Nights."
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We can honestly say that it's one of those rare comedies that bring us joy in its purest form. Every scene is perfectly calibrated for just the right amount of stupid and clever comedy. In fact, the chemistry between Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton Jr., respectively, is what led to "Step Brothers" in the first place, so, you really should go with the original first. "Talladega Nights" also features truly hilarious performances from the late, great Michael Clarke Duncan; the always-perfect Amy Adams; and Sacha Baron Cohen as Ricky Bobby's rival, Jean Girard, providing one of the truly perfect over-the-top French accents in film history.
The micro-series will be held at the Michigan Theater screening room with the following lineup:
- "Anchorman" (2004) - Thursday, March 1 at 9:30 p.m.
- "Step Brothers" (2008) - Thursday, March 8 at 9:30 p.m.
- "Zoolander" (2001) - Thursday, March 15 at 9:30 p.m.
- "Talladega Nights" (2006) - Thursday, March 29 at 9:30 p.m.
For ticket information, visit michtheater.org/ferrell.
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