Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are two of the most successful comedy actors working today, and their best movies come about when they’re sharing the screen. Following his Saturday Night Live success, Ferrell became world-famous thanks to such movies as Elf and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, but he found his best screen partner when he starred opposite Reilly in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Reilly has had a more varied filmography, starring in a ton of dramas, including a number of collaborations with filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson in the late 1990s, yet he is now best known for his 2000s comedy roles with Ferrell.
Reilly has led cult classic movies such as the undeserving flop Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, but it’s often a disappointment to see him without Ferrell by his side, and vice versa. Following Talladega Nights, the duo took advantage of their on-screen chemistry and worked together on several more movie projects, yet these have had varying degrees of success. Not all of their movies together have been hits — one was overwhelmingly hated. Nevertheless, between a silly movie about a blossoming bromance and a contentious take on some classic literary characters, it’s always a joy to watch Ferrell and Reilly work together. Here are all of their collaborations ranked.
5 Holmes & Watson (2018)
Because Holmes & Watson starred Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly together for the first time in many years, the movie had high expectations. Unfortunately, while Ferrell and Reilly don’t give particularly bad performances, as they’re acting typically over the top as the titular investigators, Holmes & Watson was such a wasted opportunity, as the humor fell completely flat. Anachronistic jokes about “selfies” five years after the word was added to the Oxford Dictionary dated the comedy as soon as it was released. Everybody has had a bad day at the office, and Holmes & Watson was exactly that for Reilly and Ferrell.
Holmes & Watson
Holmes & Watson was not just a critical failure, but it was a huge box office bomb, too. The movie barely grossed $40 million, failing to make back its $42 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Even Sony knew that the movie was going to be unsuccessful, as the studio tried selling it off to Netflix (via Deadline). It was ultimately a huge disappointment for fans of the two actors, as it was the third collaboration between Ferrell and Reilly with them in lead roles. However, as Adam Mckay directed Ferrell and Reilly in their two previous movies together, Holmes & Watson might have failed because McKay was absent.
4 Tim & Eric’s Billion-Dollar Movie (2012)
Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie focuses on a very different comedy duo from Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. The 2012 film is an extension of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim’s absurdist comedy found in their TV series, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Good Job!, which isn’t to everyone’s taste. Ferrell has a supporting role as mall owner Damien Weebs while Reilly plays Taquito, a homeless man-child, and these roles are glorified cameos. The movie is great for fans of the series, but as most wouldn’t have heard of the show outside of the viral Tim and Eric gif, it serves such a niche audience, and a couple of cameos from Ferrell and Reilly aren’t enough to convert anyone.
3 Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
Though they don’t have much screen time together, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are both funny in their own right in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, even if Reilly’s appearance is the smallest of cameos. While it’d have been great to see Reilly as part of the main news team, that main ensemble was already established before he and Ferrell became a dynamic duo, and a cameo is the next best thing. The movie isn’t quite as beloved as the original Anchorman, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had with the ’80s-based comedy sequel, even if Anchorman 2’s bloopers are funnier than the movie.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is the sequel to Adam McKay’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. In the sequel, Ron, again played by Will Ferrell, joins New York’s 24-hour news channel. Steve Carell, David Koechner, and Paul Rudd also return as Ron’s team, along with Christina Applegate as his wife.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is a worthy sequel, and it’s again a great vessel for Ferrell’s unrivaled improvisation skills. The movie follows the typical sequel formula of making everything bigger, and that’s where Reilly comes in. Where the first Anchorman featured a battle between different news teams, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues features an all-out war. The History Network includes Reilly as the Ghost of Stonewall Jackson, who has one line of dialogue. He announces, “May the lord anoint this hallowed field of battle.” Reilly playing a stoic ghost for a few short seconds is so delightfully bemusing, and it’s one of the best Anchorman 2 cameos.
2 Step Brothers (2008)
Step Brothers was disliked by critics when it was first released in 2008, as it sits at a “rotten” 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it was a huge hit among general audiences, it’s considered one of the best 2000s comedies, and it holds a legacy that few others do. Step Brothers follows two grown men who still live at home and are forced to get along when their parents get married, and they go from hating each other’s guts to being completely inseparable. Every set of the movie is a playground for the actors to go wild with improvisation, and every piece of that set is a potential comedy prop.
The movie sees Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly at the absolute height of their working relationship, and they’re totally believable as man-child stepbrothers. It’s a perfect vessel for their shenanigans, and Step Brothers is full of iconic quotes. More interestingly, the movie’s final act at the Catalina Wine Mixer houses one of Ferrell’s amazing talents outside of acting and comedy: he gives a shockingly powerful performance of Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye.” Of course, it’s still hilariously supported by Reilly’s drumming and “boats and hoes” ad-libs. Step Brothers is the last truly great Ferrell and Reilly collaboration.
Step Brothers
Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, and John C. Reilly joined forces in 2008 to create this now iconic Comedy. The film sees two grown men that still live at home with their parents, forced to adapt to living with one another when their parents get married.
1 Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is the first movie Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly starred in together, and it remains their best. It’s obvious from the first moment they’re on-screen together that they have such great chemistry, making it unsurprising that Reilly almost played Brick in Anchorman. While Step Brothers is absolutely sidesplitting, it does sort of repeat Talladega Night‘s formula, as both movies see two best friends fall out only to learn how much they really need each other to survive. Talladega Night achieves that idea much more effectively while still being outrageously funny.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 comedy directed by Adam McKay, starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Ferrell plays a successful NASCAR driver who almost loses his family, best friend, and his career when a French Formula One driver attempts to take his number one spot in the world of racing.
The NASCAR-based movie was both Ferrell and Reilly’s first foray into blockbuster comedy, as the movie had a huge budget of $72.5 million (via Box Office Mojo), and it shows. Talladega Nights is not only full of laugh-out-loud one-liners but there’s so much action on display, too. The movie is even so important that it even influenced a real NASCAR race. However, the beating heart of the movie is Ricky (Ferrell) and Cal’s (Reilly) friendship, and the actors perfectly nail NASCAR racer caricatures. The unique high concept and the instant chemistry between the stars resulted inTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby being Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly‘s highest-grossing movie together.
