Welcome to my series of posts called “Will Ferrell Has Been in at Least 25 Movies Since 1997”.
It’s not just the title of this series, it’s also true.
How many TOTAL movies has Will Ferrell been in? Who knows, and who cares?
Was he in any movies before 1997? Maybe!
I used to call these posts movie reviews, but they are more like rants.
1 – Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Mike Myers is one of few successful SNL alumni from the early 90s.
He was able to take his Wayne’s World sketch from SNL and make it into two successful movies.
This was good news for Will Ferrell as Myers decided to make a wacky film in 1997 based on a character called Austin Powers, and help out some of the stand-out SNL cast members at that time.
This movie was a huge success and the part awarded to Will Ferrell further added to his credibility as a movie actor.
Ferrell’s part is small, but memorable.
He apparently messed up the cryogenic reanimation process and Dr. Evil’s cat emerged completely hairless.
He tried to apologize:
“We were unable to anticipate feline complications…”
but Dr. Evil won’t have it and drops him into the fire pit.
He survives the fall, though we only hear his voice for the rest of the scene, and says that he is still alive but badly burned.
In any other movie, this might actually be a disturbing scene to watch, as Dr. Evil tries to continue his business with a man dying underneath the room, talking over him, waiting for him to stop pleading for mercy.
Somehow, this scene is not disturbing but very funny, even when Dr. Evil dispatches his guards to the fire pit to finish the job and then silence. On paper it sounds like a terrible thing, but I urge you to watch this clip and decide for yourself!
Overall, this movie was so successful due to the originality of scenes such as this, which permeate the movie.
Mike Myers is definitely unique and has the ability to come up with film ideas that have never been done. Shrek is another great example of this.
The challenge, which many SNL alumni face, is knowing when to stop milking a great idea, something that will be discussed when we look at the Austin Powers sequel and other SNL movies featuring Will Ferrell in the coming weeks.
Next on “Will Ferrell Has Been In At Least 25 Movies Since 1997”: #2 – Men Seeking Women