… well, by way of his body-double, at least. I haven’t seen Semi-Pro, but I do not find it in the least bit surprising that a Will Ferrell film about basketball contains what in any other film would be an unnecessary bear-wrestling scene. My assumption is that in and of itself this scene hardly warrants discussion; that is, until last Thursday when that very same bear that wrestled with Ferrell’s body-double killed his trainer. What this means is that in a very indirect way, Will Ferrell put his own life on the line to make a film as disposable as Semi-Pro. I know what you’re thinking: while the bear presented a very real danger on the set, Ferrell himself was never in harm’s way. Well, suppose for a moment the bear’s pyschological breakdown took place on the set rather than months after shooting. It would follow that the bear would likely look to take out his aggression on the immediate object of his frustration (i.e., the jackass who keeps wrestling with him). Failing that, his next recourse might be to seek out someone very similar in appearance. Why that would have been no good for Mr. Ferrell, no?
Now, I don’t want to linger on the actual tragedy that occurred last week, so let’s leave behind that element of the situation and tackle this from a slightly different perspective: how Will Ferrell’s films are becoming an affront to nature and, in a greater sense, God. The universe has a funny way of encoding messages and I believe this recent tragedy can be read as follows: Mr. Ferrell, stop making the same film over and over or more will die! Yes, I’m sure the money is good. But he’s got to be set for life financially by now, it’s time to start exploring the concept of artistic integrity which, contrary to popular belief, does still exist in the comedy genre.
The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola 