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There have been numerous times Will Ferrell was a comedy genius, with a number of them being displayed during the tenure on “Saturday Night Live” that made him a star. But once he made the transition to the big screen, Ferrell was off and running, firing off one future classic after another. Ferrell has given so many great performances that limiting this list to just 15 meant leaving off several gems, which is only the case for a fairly select group of actors. For many, the quality of the movies are already iffy near the bottom of a top 15 list.

Of course, Ferrell has occasionally done more serious work as well, from dramedies to a few movies where the laughs are few and far between. Some of those were definitely worthy of inclusion among his best, and will be discussed in this feature. As a note, movies where Ferrell only makes a cameo, or has a very small role — such as “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” — weren’t considered. In addition, the movies chosen were balanced between the quality of the overall movie itself, and the size and impact of Ferrell’s performance in particular. That is to say, there are objectively better movies that deserved to be ranked higher than they were, but Ferrell wasn’t as big of a presence nor turned in as iconic of a performance in those movies. 

Fortunately, “Everything Must Go” didn’t end up being an example of a comedian who tried to act in a serious film but failed. In fact, Ferrell knocked it out of the part playing Nick Halsey, a man whose alcoholism led to both being fired from his job and left by his wife — on the same day. With his estranged wife having changed the locks to their home, put Nick’s stuff on the lawn, and cut off his access to their bank account and credit cards, Nick has no choice but to have a sad yard sale of all of his possessions. 

Dana Stevens of Slate said of Ferrell’s performance, “it’s the first one that provides a glimpse at his possible future as a Bill Murray-style character actor.” Ferrell is currently around the same age Murray was when Murray began the dramatic phase of his career, and it would certainly be interesting to see Ferrell follow that same route. 

Cast: Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Michael Peña

Director: Dan Rush

Year: 2010

Rating: R

Runtime: 97 minutes

Where to watch: Fandango At Home, Plex

Beyond getting roped into making a couple of bad “SNL” movies, Ferrell proved to have a keen eye for choosing projects in the early years of his film career. There are surprisingly few true duds in his first batch of movies, and he certainly wasn’t just taking anything and everything that was offered to him. Among those first films was “Dick,” a comedy that imagines that two teenage girls — played by Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst — accidentally witnessed Watergate and are hired by Richard Nixon as dog walkers so they don’t squeal.

Ferrell plays a version of real-life journalist Bob Woodward, who suspects the girls know something about Nixon’s misdeeds and is trying to get them to confess. But he’s about as intelligent and emotionally mature as they are, so the whole thing becomes a fun, slapsticky farce that ends up being a fantastic early showcase at how effortlessly Ferrell was going to transition from TV to film stardom.

Cast: Will Ferrell, Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams

Director: Andrew Fleming

Year: 1999

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 94 minutes

Where to watch: Tubi, The Roku Channel

After the success of “Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby,” Will Ferrell quickly followed that up with two more sports comedies. One of them, “Semi-Pro,” wasn’t even on the shortlist of contenders for this feature, and that’s all that needs to be said about that. But “Blades of Glory,” while no “Talladega Nights,” is a delightful comedic romp where Ferrell plays an Olympic figure skater.

Jon Heder — in his best headlining role besides “Napoleon Dynamite” — proves capable of keeping up with Ferrell as the two of them play skaters who have completely different personalities, styles, and work ethics but are forced to become a reluctant duo. It takes most of the mismatched buddy comedy and sports movie beats you’d expect it to, but “Blades of Glory” rises above its tropes thanks to the performances of not only Ferrell and Heder but also Will Arnett and Amy Poehler as their rival skater team.

Cast: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett

Directors: Will Speck and Josh Gordon

Year: 2007

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 93 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix, Paramount+

Though he did some uncredited writing on both “Reality Bites” and “The Cable Guy,” the first movie that was marketed as being written and directed by Ben Stiller was “Zoolander.” And while it was largely a vehicle for Stiller and the titular character, the script was still quite generous in allowing for co-stars Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell to shine equally bright. It was also the first movie in which Ferrell played a fully-formed comedic character, at least of that size and importance in the film.

As aging model Derek Zoolander (Stiller) tries to mount a comeback against rising star Hansel McDonald (Wilson), the two get embroiled in political espionage under the pretend tutelage of fashion mogul Jacobim Mugatu (Ferrell). While Stiller and Wilson play fairly predictable supermodel stereotypes, it’s Ferrell who is allowed to stretch and display a broader range of comedic talents in this cult classic.  

Cast: Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson

Director: Ben Stiller

Year: 2001

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 89 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix, Kanopy

Not counting a co-writing credit on “A Night at the Roxbury,” all of Will Ferrell’s screenwriting credits were shared with longtime partner Adam McKay up until their professional — and seemingly personal — split in 2019. So “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga,” his musical fantasy rom-com for Netflix, was his chance to prove that he didn’t need McKay in order to pen a funny script. He teamed instead with friend and former “SNL” writer Harper Steele for the movie, and it would seem that Ferrell can do fine without McKay.

Ferrell, alongside Rachel McAdams, plays the fictional Icelandic band Fire Saga. While popular with the locals at the bar of their small hometown, the pair dream of winning the Eurovision Song Contest and proving they can be more than just a band that sings silly songs for people to chant while they’re drinking. The movie overstays its welcome a bit at 2+ hours and could’ve used some tightening, but overall it’s a hilarious musical odyssey.   

Cast: Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Dan Stevens

Director: David Dobkin

Year: 2020

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 123 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix

Though it never quite caught on the way the Brat Pack label did, the 2000s was the era of the so-called “Frat Pack” that included Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, and a few others. And certainly, a big part of the reason the group earned that name is that they all played fraternity members in the 2003 college comedy “Old School.”

To be more specific, they played 30-something men who were no longer in college but found themselves forming a fraternity alongside actual college students. The mismatched group of adults and college guys grows over the course of the film, as does the scope of the misadventures they have. All due respect to Wilson and Vaughn, but Ferrell steals the show as Frank “The Tank” Ricard who is trying to balance keeping his marriage together with the allure of returning to his glory days as the hard-drinking life of the party. 

Cast: Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn

Director: Todd Phillips

Year: 2003

Rating: R

Runtime: 90 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix, Hoopla

When Barbenheimer became the cinematic showdown of 2023, Will Ferrell got to be a part of it thanks to his role in “Barbie.” Ferrell plays the never named CEO of Mattel, who has to convince Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) to return to Barbieland before they continue to cause problems in the real world. He is initially portrayed as a friendly presence, but when Barbie doesn’t go along with the plan, the CEO reveals a slightly more menacing streak.

Obviously the bulk of the attention went to Robbie and Gosling, as well as fellow “SNL” alum Kate McKinnon as the scene-stealing Weird Barbie. But Ferrell still brought his A game to a part that he easily could’ve phoned in, not only in the obvious ways — funny line readings, physical comedy moments, etc. — but in how he plays a CEO that outwardly claims to be anti-patriarchy but is actually very much content in how much he has benefited from the patriarchy. 

Cast: Will Ferrell, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling

Director: Greta Gerwig

Year: 2023

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 114 minutes

Where to watch: HBO Max

If you’ve never seen “Stranger Than Fiction,” you need to watch Will Ferrell’s underrated dark comedy as soon as possible. Not only is it Ferrell’s best dramatic-leaning performance to date, but it’s thus far his only remotely decent sci-fi movie — don’t bother with “Land of the Lost,” no matter how appealing a movie starring Will Ferrell and Danny McBride might seem.

Ferrell plays Harold Crick, a seemingly normal IRS agent who discovers that he’s actually a character in a novel by an author named Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson), and can hear Karen narrating everything he is doing. But Harold also exists in the real world, with Karen, who only later learns of Harold’s existence. Karen’s gimmick is that she kills the main character of all her novels, which is a bit complicated in this case, seeing as how Harold is somehow a real person. It’s a quirky, twisty dramedy that is one of Ferrell’s most overlooked films and performances. 

Cast: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman

Director: Marc Forster

Year: 2006

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 114 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Pluto TV

“The Lego Movie” was way better than it had any right to be, and a lot of that was thanks to the game performances of its huge, talented cast. Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, and many others play the various Lego people in the film, a combination of original creations for the film and classic existing Lego figures. It centers around Pratt’s Emmett Brickowski, who decides one day that he doesn’t want to spend his whole life going through the motions of his predetermined routine and tries to break out of it.

Ferrell spends much of the movie playing main antagonist Lord Business, who has a vested interest in everyone in Bricksburg staying in their lane. But Ferrell also crosses over into the movie’s surprise live-action segment near the end. We won’t spoil it if you haven’t seen it, but it has Ferrell give a surprisingly poignant performance as an unexpected character that you don’t see coming. 

Cast: Will Ferrell, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks

Directors: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Year: 2014

Rating: PG

Runtime: 101 minutes

Where to watch: Available to rent or buy through Amazon and Apple TV

In 2021, Will Ferrell was contacted by his longtime friend and former “SNL” collaborator, informing Ferrell that she, now Harper, was a trans woman. The pair decide to take a cross-country road trip together, both so that they can form a tighter bond now that Steele is living as her true self and to meet some of Steele’s other friends along the way. They also filmed that trip, the result of which is the documentary “Will & Harper.”

In addition to just the two pals reconnecting, “Will & Harper” also sees them stop in several small towns during their trip so that can Ferrell can see firsthand the range of reactions that a transgender woman receives from strangers. There are moments of triumph, moments of sadness, and even a couple of borderline scary encounters as the two cross paths with especially close-minded folks. It’s the most candid and emotionally raw Ferrell has ever been on screen, and it’s a beautiful message of friendship and tolerance.

Cast: Will Ferrell, Harper Steele, Kristen Wiig

Director: Josh Greenbaum

Year: 2024

Rating: R

Runtime: 114 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix

The bafflingly awful “Holmes & Watson” not withstanding, you can put Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in a movie together and it’s all but guaranteed to be comedic perfection. “Step Brothers” seemed to have been conceived specifically for the purpose of coming up with a premise that just let the two riff and goof off, leaving the editors to splice the footage into a coherent movie. 

Not that “Step Brothers” doesn’t have a legitimately creative premise, seeing the two play the adult children of two single parents who get married — and now the four adults have to find a way to live together under the same roof. Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins bring plenty of laughs on their own as said parents, as do co-stars Adam Scott and Kathryn Hahn. But it’s very much the Ferrell and Reilly show here, and their chemistry is so good it’s a wonder they aren’t actual siblings. 

Cast: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen

Director: Adam McKay

Year: 2008

Rating: R

Runtime: 98 minutes

Where to watch: Available to rent or buy through Amazon and Apple TV

While they were still working together, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay seemed like they were trying to work their way across every genre they could get to. And when they got to mismatched buddy cop comedies with “The Other Guys,” they showcased once again that there wasn’t a genre they couldn’t skewer and celebrate in equal manner.

It’s easy to forget that Mark Wahlberg actually can be fun when he wants to be, and he really brings it here as Terry, a hotshot detective who is hungry for action. But Terry is stymied by being partnered with Allen (Ferrell), who wants to do things by the book and would be content being a desk cop for his entire career. Wahlberg and Ferrell are awesome together, even more so whenever they share a scene with Michael Keaton as the police chief who also works at Bed Bath & Beyond and has a tendency to “accidentally” quote TLC song lyrics.

Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes

Director: Adam McKay

Year: 2010

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 107 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix

Speaking of Will Ferrell’s connection to Barbenheimer, “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan’s favorite comedy is a Ferrell movie might not expect. Apparently, just because you make super serious movies about super tragic historical figures doesn’t mean you can’t also love a movie like “Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby.”

Playing a slightly tweaked version of his George W. Bush impersonation, Ferrell is NASCAR champion Ricky Bobby, who has been nearly unstoppable behind the wheel for years — thanks in no small part to glory-sacrificing teammate Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly). When a French F1 driver (Sasha Baron Cohen) joins the league, Ricky may have finally met his match. As good as Ferrell and Reilly already are together, adding Cohen to the mix just amps up the comedy gold. 

Cast: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen

Director: Adam McKay

Year: 2006

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 108 minutes

Where to watch: Available to rent or buy through Amazon and Apple TV

Of the many times Will Ferrell has broke others on set, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” had so many bloopers and outtakes that there was eventually an entire second movie — “Wake Up, Ron Burgundy” — built out of the cutting room floor material. But as for “Anchorman” itself, it is a nearly perfect comedy with a nearly perfect cast.

In addition to being an excellent showcase for Ferrell himself, “Anchorman” also helped introduced the world to how hilarious Paul Rudd is, not to mention a still fairly little known Steve Carell. And it’s a shame Christina Applegate didn’t get to make more movies like this, because she more than holds her own here among a group of A-list comedy veterans giving it their all. As for “Anchorman 2,” we just pretend that never happened.  

Cast: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd

Director: Adam McKay

Year: 2004

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 94 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix, Kanopy

One of the most recent movies to be fully welcomed into the Christmas movie pantheon, “Elf” also served as the true introduction to Will Ferrell as the A-list comedy movie headliner he was about to become. 

Having to portray an adult man named Buddy who thinks he’s an elf and has to navigate the world outside of the North Pole for the first time required a deft touch, walking the line between big slapstick moments while also still needing to bring the charm and the heart. As cliche of a thing as this is to say, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else that could’ve pulled it off has as well as Ferrell did. And it’s also impossible to imagine that he’ll ever give a better performance in a better movie. 

Cast: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel

Director: Jon Favreau

Year: 2003

Rating: PG

Runtime: 97 minutes

Where to watch: Paramount+