Top 11 Will Ferrell Movies
- CJ Tiernan
- Dec 1, 2025
- 7 min read
By CJ Tiernan
Will Ferrell burst on the comedy scene in the mid-'90s on Saturday Night Live. He was fearless in his commitment to the bit. It seemed as though he was willing to push the audio/visual medium as far as possible for a laugh. He quickly became the star there. He walked away in '02 to pursue a film career full time. I reckon I'm not the only one to feel this was a good decision. He was an absolute staple in comedy movies throughout the 2000s. Below is a list of my Top 11 favorite Movies containing Will Ferrell I've ever seen.
1. The Lego Movie (2014)
The Lego Movie is one of the greatest movies of all time. It contains a childlike sense of joy and wonder and perfectly encapsulates the magic of the toy on which it is based. When you have a box of legos, you can make anything. It is a wonderful and beautiful story and Will Ferrell, in addition to playing the animated villain, also plays a live-action role that helps embody the heart of the movie. I don't know that I've seen 5 movies in the theater that made me laugh harder than this one, but it also reaches a delightful and satisfying conclusion. The Lego Movie is a non-stop potpourri of visual stimuli that may take many viewings to fully appreciate, but I'm game to watch this movie over and over again.
2. Elf (2003)
A human who thinks he's an elf is a great conceit that Will Ferrell and John Favreau (the director of the movie) execute to perfection. Elf has become a holiday staple that simply must be watched annually. Will's performance, again featuring an unwavering commitment to the bit, is the star of the show. He has such a childlike innocence and is a sweet and endearing character. As a fun (or embarrassing) fact: There is a narwal that breaches the surface as Buddy the Elf departs the North Pole and says "Bye Buddy, hope you find your dad." I was under the impression that narwals were fictional beasts like unicorns and Bigfoot. I was about 30 years old when I discovered the narwal is a real, actual living animal. 🤯
3. Wedding Crashers (2005)
This is the 51st list that I'm posting on my site and, in the event that you're reading them order, you may have noticed I don't really do much in the vulgar and profane category. I am very much of the belief that in almost every instance that one drops an F-bomb, it is a lazy execution and a different word or phrase would be a more funny option. However, in Wedding Crashers, Will Ferrell uses my favorite F-bomb I've ever seen in a movie. "Mom, the meatloaf! Fuck!" is just so excessive, unnecessary, and jarring that I couldn't stop laughing when I saw it. I love it. I love this movie as a whole but his role as the irredeemable Chazz, who shifts from hitting on women at weddings to hitting on them at funerals is an all-time cameo worthy of mention.
4. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Stranger Than Fiction was a departure for Ferrell. He shifted away from his standard fare of loud characters and R-rated comedies. In this movie, he plays a fictional character that is actually alive and discovers that he is a character in a story because he can hear the narration. He plays an office drone with a specific routine and his world is shattered with the presence of the narrator. Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson are great and Maggie Gyllenhaal (don't think for one second that I didn't have to Google the spelling of that name) rounds out the rom com element. It is a funny and beautiful story highly worthy of your time.
5. The Producers (2005)
This was a Mel Brooks remake of a Mel Brooks movie. Classic Mel Brooks. The parody king parodied himself. I never saw the original production, which starred Gene Wilder (one of my all-time faves) and Zero Mostel and boldly featured a song called "Springtime for Hitler" less than 25 years after the end of World War II. It feels edgy now, and we're creeping up on 100 years since Adolf Hitler rose to power. Anyway, the remake changed the story into a musical (which was first a stage production before it became a movie). The whole idea in the movie is the accountant (Matthew Broderick) tells the producer (Nathan Lane) offhandedly that you could make more money from a flop than a hit. The titular producers then set out to create the worst musical of all time. The Producers is absolutely a hit. The first time I ever saw this, it was actually a stage adaptation in '06 in London at the Drury Lane Theatre (there is zero reason to contextually include this info. It is purely a brag. Sorry, not sorry).
6. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Before Baker Mayfield was baking up wins in Tampa, Florida, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly were Shakin' 'N Bakin' in Talladega (did you know that Talladega Speedway is in Lincoln, Alabama? Neither did I). This movie is a pure comedy. It has endlessly quotable lines like "If you ain't first, you're last" and "Help me, Jesus! Help me, Jewish God! Help me, Allah! Help me, Tom Cruise!” You've also got great supporting roles by Gary Cole and Sacha Baron Cohen. It was written and directed by Adam McKay, a frequent Ferrell collaborator, who also wrote and directed Anchorman, Step Brothers, and the Other Guys before going on to do critically acclaimed fare like Vice, Don't Look Up, and The Big Short.
7. Step Brothers (2008)
This is the ultimate man-child role. Two adults (like 40-year-olds) become step brothers when their parents marry. The titular characters are then forced to live together and they absolutely behave like bratty little children (again, they're supposed to be 39 and 40 years old). It is the type of idea that wouldn't work without the fantastic and earnest performances of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly (It has a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing so perhaps it still didn't in the eyes of some). At the end of the movie, we get the untouchable Catalina Wine Mixer Scene. It is comedy gold. Will Ferrell actually sings the song (Por Ti Volaré) and John C. Reilly actually plays the drums. That scene is one of the most enduring parts of the film, along with the classic cover art that features the two characters posed together in sweaters.
8a. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Will Ferrell plays a henchmen to the "big bad," Dr. Evil. He plays a character called Mustafa whose achilles heal is that he is irritated by being asked the same question 3 times and thus spills each and every secret he has about where Dr. Evil is just by being asked 3 times. It is a delightfully silly gimmick, but I mean, c'mon baby, have you seen these movies? That's kinda their style. "I fear it might be gangrenous. The wound is beginning to smell a little bit like almonds." That is part of the delightful off-screen shout of Mustafa after falling to what appears initially to be certain death. It is a callback to the first film. Will Ferrell always has the best lines in his movies.
8b. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
I grouped these two together because they are part of the same trilogy and I didn't want to cheat you. Plus, they are more like cameos than full-blown roles so it only feels fair. He is once again sent to his death and experiences what initially seems to be immediate demise, only for him to receive a delightful off-screen pain session. "I'm still alive only, I'm very badly burned." It is an interruption to a meeting he was just removed from. It is indicative of the comedy of the film but also of Will Ferrell's style. It's perfect.
9. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
This may very well be Will Ferrell's most iconic film character. The debate is probably down to either this one or Buddy the Elf. Ferrell plays a news broadcaster in the mid-'70s and displays all the sexism and bravado associated with the time. The movie is a non-stop comedy riot. It is also crammed full of celebrity cameos. He managed to parlay the role into several delightful appearances on the Entertainment Sports Programming Network (ESPN). I would argue this is the most quoted movie in his extensive oeuvre.
10. Barbie (2023)
Barbie is a very pink movie that is less than subtle with its pro-feminist, anti-patriarchy views. It is also a fantastic film. Ferrell plays the head of Mattel and is played as very out of touch with the present times. His role in the real world is comedic and he comes with a legion of corporate suits making it a fun contrast to the characters in Barbieland. His role helps lampoon consumerism and highlight one of many subjects of satire in the movie. His ability to once again appear earnest and sincere even when unlikeable makes the character work. This Will Ferrell guy: he's good.
11. The Internship (2013)
This movie is very similar to Wedding Crashers. It is an Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn movie, and Will Ferrell has a bit part that is comedically perfect and helps to juxtapose the two worlds that Owen Wilson's character is caught between. The movie itself is a great one that follows two people at Google who have aged out of feeling like they belong there but try and intern there anyway. Will Ferrell plays a mattress salesman that is crude and rude and bad at business in a delightfully humorous way. This is a movie that snuck up on me how good it was.
Final Thoughts
Will Ferrell is a comedy legend and has created characters that stand the test of time. I greatly enjoyed all the movies on this list (they're all in my Top 350 movies of all time) and Will Ferrell was unquestionably a big factor as to why. He also helped to co-write many of the movies he was in (Fun Fact: he was also the one who wrote the "More Cowbell" sketch on SNL, which may be the greatest SNL sketch of all time). These are my favorite movies that Will Ferrell was in that I've ever seen. I'm sure your list differs from mine. I'll leave a small list of the rest of the Will Ferrell movies I've seen down below. Please let me know in the comments if I missed any of your faves. Thanks!
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