Review: 'Ferrell Takes the Field' Doesn't Know What To Do With Will Ferrell and Neither Do We

This one-off, 45-minute sports documentary from HBO isn't a zany mockumentary like "7 Days in Hell," but it's certainly not a straight take either.

On September 8, 1965, Bert "Campy" Campaneris played all nine positions for the Oakland A's during a major league baseball game, becoming the first athlete to perform the seemingly impossible task. Not only did the six-time All-Star transition smoothly from one spot on the diamond to the next, but he pitched ambidextrously — meaning he would switch back and forth between throwing right-handed and left-handed to give himself an advantage over hitters. Of course, this accomplishment was no mere happenstance. Campy was given the opportunity via a special promotion for the popular young athlete, and he took full advantage. Sadly, when Will Ferrell was given a similar opportunity, he only managed to foul one off.

It's within this basic premise — that a 47-year-old comedian would compete with the world's best baseball players — that "Ferrell Takes the Field" finds its biggest hook. A bonafide movie star and giant of the comedy world for the last few decades, Ferrell's most daunting task has to do with time management more than testing his skills with a bat or glove. Playing for 10 different teams during five separate spring training games, Ferrell plays about a half-inning for each team, donning one squad's jersey for the top half before suiting up for the other in the bottom. Yet, even with only 45 minutes to tell its tale, the tone of the comedic documentary changes as often as Ferrell changes teams. 

HBOWill Ferrell in "Ferrell Takes the Field"

During the introduction, Ferrell lays out in plain words what he wants to accomplish. First and foremost, his endeavors are part of a charity drive for Cancer for College. The non-profit organization was created by Craig Pollard, a former college baseball star whose dreams of the big leagues were cut short by a cancer scare. Pollard, who's close with Ferrell, claims he'll be living vicariously through his friend on the big day, but what matters is the $1 million raised by the event. 

Featuring appearances by current college students who earned scholarships to their respective universities after overcoming bouts with cancer, the introduction is almost too touching. Throw in a scene where Ferrell plays catch with "Campy" Campaneris, asking for tips and promising to honor what he's accomplished (goal No. 2), and what comes next just doesn't quite fit. Though there's a smooth and sensitive transition to Ferrell's third goal — "crushing ass," aka making this a fun event for everyone watching at home — the balance between actual admiration (for the charity and Campy's accomplishment) and Ferrell's self-mockery as a baseball player can be a bit much as the special progresses.

When treated as light, easy entertainment, "Ferrell Takes the Field" goes down just fine. Watching Ferrell commit to the extended bit works very well, as well-built anticipation for whether or not he can field a sharp grounder or make contact with a professional fastball creates a giggly form of excitement. For his part, Ferrell goes through all the motions with vigor: He talks shit with the players about his physical fitness, makes faux-athletic movements while out in the field, and even throws a few loopers as the pitcher. 

HBOWill Ferrell in "Ferrell Takes the Field"

What's even more interesting, though, are the subtle nods to the sport's traditions. Baseball and all its superstitions, customs and general culture are ripe for satire, but Ferrell only teases us with brief tastes of brilliance. The best example by far comes when an infuriated Ferrell leaves the field and purposefully steps on the baseline. Die-hard fans will know the disrespect shown by this seemingly meaningless action, and its inclusion is all the more meaningful (even as just a brief shot). His beard of sunflower seeds (shown in all the trailers) is just as epic, and a few other minor witticisms pop up to show just how much this sports fan knows about America's game. (Make sure you watch through the credits.)

But for as light and entertaining as "Ferrell Takes the Field" can be — don't get me wrong: this is pretty funny — it never fully succeeds at its goals. The charity certainly benefitted, and for that, "Ferrell Takes the Field" is absolutely an admirable endeavor. But honoring Campy seemed to get the short shaft along the way, and the jokes included skew between fun for the whole family and TV-MA. Being on HBO grants the special the right to curse and infer as much as Ferrell wants, but two-thirds of it is entirely wholesome. Why not match that tone throughout, as Ferrell has done in the past with kid-friendly films like "Elf" and "Kicking & Screaming"?

Like much of Ferrell's recent work, from "The Spoils of Babylon" to "Get Hard," "Ferrell Takes the Field" is a great idea executed to a lesser degree. Audiences could certainly do worse for 45 minutes of laughs, but the opportunity missed makes the whole thing feel more like a stunt than a special occasion. 

Will Ferrell, Red Hot Chili Peppers among Bernie Sanders' celebrity backers

The Vermont senator’s campaign releases VIP endorsement list after Sanders attends fundraiser in New York on Friday alongside actor Mark Ruffalo

 Will Ferrell: feeling the Bern. Photograph: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Bernie Sanders is touting the support of a newly released team of celebrity endorsements that includes actor Will Ferrell, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

The list of VIP backers was posted online on Friday, a few hours after Sanders appeared onstage at a New York City event alongside actor Mark Ruffalo.

The Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign, which has often cast itself as an anti-establishment movement fuelled by the grassroots support of everyday voters, referred to the celebrity backers as “artists, musicians and cultural leaders”.

Earlier in the day, Sanders was introduced to a packed crowd at the Town Hall fundraiser by Ruffalo, who has himself donated $825 to the Sanders campaign. Sanders is eschewing white tablecloths and ornate chandeliers that ordinarily provide the backdrop to presidential fundraising in favor of crowded, raucous rallies to raise money for his campaign.

In July his campaign said it had collected at least $15m, primarily in small donations.

Ruffalo said he was “in service” to the independent senator from Vermont, who is challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

The actor argued Barack Obama’s presidential election seven years ago, and Donald Trump current lead polls of Republican primary voters, indicate the country thirsts for political change.

“The stage is set for a mass disruption,” Ruffalo said. “People are looking for something different – even in our brother Donald Trump.”

Sanders delivered a more than 40-minute address, where he laid out his agenda for the transformation he likes to call a democratic revolution.

This agenda includes a laundry list of progressive issues, including universal healthcare, a $15 minimum wage and the return of Glass-Steagall, the banking act which limited banks’ ability to partake in risky trading.

He did not mention Hillary Clinton, his main competition for the Democratic nomination, but instead attacked the Republican party for failing to address the interests of most Americans.

“In my view, the Republican party has an agenda, which is basically a fringe agenda representing maybe 5, 10, 15% of American people,” Sanders said.

He pinned the success of the Republican party on creating divisions. “For decades now, they have been dividing our people up,” Sanders said. “They have been dividing white from black, straight from gay, men from women, people born in this country from people not born in this country.”

Sanders also criticized the 16 candidate-deep GOP field for failing to discuss income equality or criminal justice reform during the party’s debate on Wednesday, which he live-tweeted responses to while watching it on television.

“I couldn’t take it,” said Sanders, who said he had to throw his phone away and stop watching after two and a half hours of the three-hour event.

“The only way we transform this country is when millions of people get actively involved in a political revolution,” Sanders added. “Welcome to the revolution.”

Ferrell 'inducted' into Hall of Fame

Actor also raised more than $1 million for Cancer for College

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Will Ferrell honors Cancer for College scholarship recipients on the field prior to the screening of "Ferrell Takes the Field" at Petco Park

By Alyson Footer / MLB.com | @AlysonFooter | September 6th, 2015 

SAN DIEGO -- Although he looks like a very normal guy -- he might resemble your high school algebra teacher or the neighbor down the street who was always fixing something in the driveway -- Will Ferrell most definitely does not just blend in when he's out among the people.

That was never more apparent than Saturday night at Petco Park, where Ferrell's superstar status was front and center amidst a sellout crowd at the Padres-Dodgers game. This wasn't just any typical night in San Diego, of course. Ferrell, one of the most celebrated comedic actors of his generation, was in San Diego to introduce his latest venture, "Ferrell Takes the Field," a documentary detailing every twist and turn during Ferrell's jaunt through the Cactus League last Spring Training in Arizona.

"Ferrell Takes the Field," a joint venture between HBO, Funny or Die and Major League Baseball that will air on HBO Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 ET, was shown on the giant scoreboard at Petco Park following the Dodgers-Padres game. Ferrell was on hand to address the crowd, introduce the movie and thank all who were involved in putting it together.

• "Ferrell Takes the Field" auction

The brief ceremony, however, was a bit more involved than just a general salute to the crowd.

First, Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson was on hand to present Ferrell with a Hall of Fame jersey and plaque, commemorating Ferrell's unprecedented journey during which he played 10 positions for 10 teams during five games, all in one day.

"With all due respect to Cal Ripken Jr., tonight's inductee is an Iron Man of sorts," Idelson said to the crowd. "Even though his career only lasted 12 hours."

Ferrell honored by Hall of Fame

Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson honors Will Ferrell for his contribution to the game, playing for 10 different teams in one day

The plaque, which was unveiled by Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and Padres outfielder Wil Myers, referred to Ferrell as "The Cactus Rose" and "Mr. Clutch," who "was once traded nine times in one day."

• "Get Ferrell Takes the Field" gear

In addition to the pageantry, also front and center during the ceremony was the charity that benefited from the movie.

Ferrell waived his appearance fees and filmed the documentary free of charge, sending those funds to MLB's Stand up to Cancer and also Cancer for College, an organization founded by Ferrell's USC fraternity brother, Craig Pollard, a two-time cancer survivor.

Cancer For College awards scholarships to cancer survivors aiming to obtain a college degree.

Many of the recipients of scholarships from Cancer for College were at Petco Park for the ceremony. Ferrell didn't just read off the list of names. He introduced each recipient individually, noted what type of cancer they beat, and listed the colleges they are attending.

"This allowed us to raise over $1 million for Cancer for College," Ferrell said. "That's the real reason why we're here tonight."

Pollard started Cancer For College over two decades ago and had awarded $2 million in scholarships over that period of time. Ferrell's Spring Training adventure raised around half that amount, in just about 14 hours.

"It means the world," Pollard said, prior to throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game. "It's the most amazing thing we've ever done as a charity. I was just kind of blown away, the amount of money and the impact that money is already making right now in the charity, it's huge for us."

After the ceremony, the lights went out at Petco, and the crowd settled in to watch the movie.

"Ferrell Takes the Field" captured the intensity of Ferrell's day, from the very minute he entered the A's clubhouse and told onlookers, "I'm in beast mode now. Can't talk."

He fared...adequately during his round in the cage, too.

"The most exciting play in batting practice," Ferrell deadpanned, "is the sacrifice bunt."

Somehow, the show's producers managed to whittle 14 hours of footage down to a 47-minute, action-packed documentary. The movie ends with Ferrell addressing the crowd at the Padres-Dodgers Cactus League game, his very last stop.

"When I embarked on this journey way back at breakfast, I thought to myself, could I do it?" Ferrell said. "Was I the best player on the field today? Maybe, maybe not. But there is life in this 47-year-old arm."

With a big heart to match.

Alyson Footer is a national correspondent for MLB.com. Follow her on Twitter@alysonfooter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Will Ferrell Is Your New Shortstop

In his new HBO ‘docu-special,’ Will Ferrell plays (terribly) for ten different major league baseball teams, blending humor and affection for America’s favorite pastime.

“All basketball players,” NBA coach Phil Jackson once said, remarking on Michael Jordan leaving the NBA for a shot at baseball in the minor leagues, “fantasize about being baseball players.”

A lot of others, too. Besides basketball players, the list includes football players (Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson), comedians (Bob Hope, Billy Crystal, Bill Murray), actors (Charlie Sheen, Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, George Clooney), directors (Ron Shelton, Woody Allen), rock stars (Bruce Springsteen), rappers (M.C. Hammer), presidents (Dwight D. Eisenhower), and even writers (George Plimpton wrote one of his best books, Out of My League, about pitching to Willie Mays’ and Mickey Mantle’s All-Star teams at Yankee Stadium).

Will Ferrell, though, tops them all: he’s the first 47-year-old ever to try and crack the major leagues.

Ferrell Takes The Field, the actor’s engaging special for HBO, is part charitable project and part tribute to longtime A’s All-Star Bert Campaneris who, in a publicity stunt fifty years ago, became the first major leaguer to play all nine positions over the course of a game. Ferrell does “Campy” one better: in five Grapefruit League exhibition games, he plays all nine positions on the field, takes a turn at-bat as designated hitter, and puts in half an inning coaching third base.

The tour kicks off at an Oakland A’s-Mariners game, where Ferrell, “in a beast mode,” charges onto the field then stops to ask his teammates, “Where do you guys put your wallets?” (“In your locker,” someone off-camera shouts.) Later, he steps into the batter’s box, takes a look at a 94 mph fastball and quickly concludes, “There’s all this hoopla about the home run. To me, the most exciting play in baseball is the sacrifice bunt.” Slapping one on the grass five feet in front of the plate, he declares the bunt “a symbol of America’s greatness.”

Dreams are shattered when, after just one inning, Oakland general manager Billy Beane—who inspired the book and movie Moneyball—trades Ferrell to the Seattle Mariners, whom the A’s happen to be playing that day. “Billy Beane,” grunts a disgusted Ferrell, “is a blood-sucking liar…all about numbers and crap. He doesn’t know about heart.”

Within minutes, though, Ferrell finds he can relate to his new Seattle teammates because several are Latino and, he says, “I was almost born in the Dominican Republic.” After being released by the Mariners, he is picked up by his home team, the Los Angeles Angels, and heads to center field to the sound of pounding Carl Orff-like music. He tells Mike Trout, the big league’s premiere player, “They’re taking you out.” Trout is astounded: “What?! I don’t think so.”

Ferrell then asks, “Can I borrow your cap and glove. I left mine…”

“I want those back,” Trout shouts as he returns to the dugout.

Will Ferrell to Play Every Position in MLB Spring Training Games

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Despite that short-lived moment of glory, Ferrell is soon an ex-Angel and gets picked up by the Chicago Cubs—but wears an Arizona Diamondbacks jersey instead. Cubs team executive Mike Russell decides, after half an inning, to pass on Ferrell:  “We’re looking for guys with ability. Knowledge of desert wildlife isn’t important.”

Ferrell Takes the Field is laid-back humor, affectionate towards the game and those who work in it. It’s fun rather than funny. Some may be disappointed that this isn’t slapstick comedy of the sort you see in an Adam Sandler (or even a Will Ferrell) vehicle, but it’s nice that this docu-special, as it’s called, stays true to the game aside from the premise of a 47-year-old, slightly pudgy actor playing in pieces of five different major league exhibition games. There are no set-ups, no contrived situations.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to walk into a real game, this, as much as anything you’ll ever see, will show you. You will cringe, as Ferrell does, when he trots out to the shortstop and third-base positions hoping no one hits a screamer at him. When he fields, awkwardly, a one-hop single in the outfield and then fires the ball back to the infield—I use “fire” here loosely—you may nod and wonder if you could have done as well.

“Billy Beane,” grunts a disgusted Ferrell, “is a blood-sucking liar…all about numbers and crap. He doesn’t know about heart.”


There are no stunts; Ferrell draws natural humor from the situations and then moves on.  Playing catcher for the San Francisco Giants, a position you can really get hurt playing, Ferrell finds his thigh muscles can’t take the squatting, stands up, and calls for an intentional walk.  Giants manager Matt Williams, feigning anger, kicks him off the team. By the next inning, he is pitching for the Dodgers and delivers an off-the-cuff line worthy, in its indecipherability, of Groucho, telling the pitching coach, “I throw a European curve ball.”

Ferrell Takes the Field might be called a vanity project if it wasn’t for charity, benefitting organizations dedicated to fighting cancer, including Cancer for College, a group founded by Ferrell’s fraternity brother at USC, Craig Pollard, whose hopes for a baseball career were derailed by cancer (as Ferrell’s was by comedy).

The docu-special works because baseball is the only sport where an ordinary guy can be a creditable fake athlete. Ordinary guys can’t pretend to be a football player unless they’re just going to try a kick, and facing off against LeBron James is simply out of the question.  As Ferrell sums it up, “There’s nothing more American than going to the ball park, having a hot dog, and watching nine guys from the Dominican Republic play baseball.”

Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell, in full John William Ferrell   (born July 16, 1967, Irvine, California, U.S.), American comedy actor, writer, and producer known for his impersonations and for his portrayal of dim-witted but endearing characters.

Ferrell grew up in suburban Irvine, California, where he played varsity football and drew laughs for reading the high school’s morning announcements in a variety of voices. He later studied sports journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. After graduating in 1990, he worked as a sports broadcaster on local cable before studying acting and comedy. After a year of training with the Los Angeles improv comedy group the Groundlings, he became a member of the company, and in 1995 he was invited to join the television sketch show Saturday Night Live (SNL).

With his manic energy, outlandish gags, and energetic commitment even to a failing joke, Ferrell became a fixture on SNL. He was well known for his impersonations, notably of game show host Alex Trebek, sportscaster Harry Caray, and U.S. Pres. George W. Bush. While on SNL, Ferrell also appeared in such feature films as the James Bond parody Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997); Dick (1999), a satire of the Watergate scandal; and Zoolander(2001).

In 2002 Ferrell left SNL to focus on a film career, often collaborating with Adam McKay, a writer and director he had met on SNL. The following year Ferrell was one of the stars in Old School, and he took the lead role in Elf (2003), playing a charmingly naive human raised in Santa’s village who ventures to New York City. Both films were box office successes. He then starred in a string of hit comedies, notably Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) and the NASCAR spoof Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), both of which he cowrote with McKay. In 2005 Ferrell portrayed a Nazi playwright in the musical comedy The Producers, and he played equally outlandish characters in the sports comedies Blades of Glory (2007) and Semi-Pro (2008).

His subsequent film roles include a bumbling scientist in the adventure comedy Land of the Lost (2009) and an alien supervillain in the animated Megamind (2010). Although most of Ferrell’s film work was broadly comic in tone, he occasionally took on more serious roles, including a methodical Internal Revenue Service agent in Stranger than Fiction (2006) and an alcoholic selling his possessions inEverything Must Go (2010), an adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story.

In 2006 Ferrell and McKay launched Gary Sanchez Productions. Through that company they produced several other movies in which Ferrell starred, including the farcical Step Brothers (2008), which they cowrote; the buddy-movie parody The Other Guys (2010); Casa de mi padre (2012; “My Father’s House”), a Spanish-language send-up of Mexican telenovelas; the political satire The Campaign (2012); and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013). The production company was also behindFunny or Die (funnyordie.com), a Web site that first garnered notice with a short video of Ferrell being intimidated by his landlady, a beer-swigging potty-mouthed toddler. Ferrell voiced a tyrannical businessman in The LEGO Movie (2014), a computer-animated film that used renderings of plastic LEGO toys as the characters and set pieces. In the racially charged satire Get Hard (2015) he played a hedge-fund manager who, after being framed for insider trading, looks to a black employee (Kevin Hart) for assistance on learning how to survive in prison.

In 2009 Ferrell made his Broadway debut in the one-man play You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush, which he wrote. The play featured Ferrell’s Bush giving some imaginative reminiscences and defenses of his administration. It earned a Tony Award nomination for special theatrical event and was broadcast on the cable channel HBO at the end of the stage production’s run in March 2009. Ferrell periodically returned to the small screen for guest appearances, notably on several episodes of the sitcoms 30 Rock (in 2010 and 2012) and The Office (in 2011). He was also featured in the comic miniseries The Spoils of Babylon (2014) and The Spoils Before Dying (2015) as a bloviating author and director. In 2011 he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Will Ferrell’s New HBO Doc About Playing for 10 Different MLB Teams Is Ferrell at His Best

Will Ferrell as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

Photo via HBO

Will Ferrell has always been a sports guy. In high school, he played basketball, soccer, and football. In college at USC, he studied to be a sports journalist. When he auditioned for his role on Saturday Night Live, one of the characters that won him the job was his wigged-out impersonation of Cubs announcer Harry Caray.

After he left SNL, Ferrell kept up the sports-related routines, from appearances on the ESPYs, to an audition for SportsCenter as Ron Burgundy, to a spot subbing as a PA announcer for the New Orleans Hornets.

He also made a pair of box office hits about NASCAR and figure skating, respectively, a less-popular film about the ABA, and a movie about coaching youth soccer you probably wouldn’t know existed unless you looked at his IMDB page. Now the latest of Ferrell’s sports-comedy ventures, a hybrid documentary/mockumentary called “Ferrell Takes the Field” premiering Saturday on HBO, is the warmest, zaniest and funniest of the lot (his iconic Harry Caray impression aside).

“Ferrell Takes the Field” follows Ferrell as he plays all nine positions and designated hitter for ten Major League Baseball teams in a single day of Cactus League preseason baseball this past March. The conceit of the special is simple enough: See what happens when they (sort of) let Will Ferrell into the Majors. Ferrell bounces between teams, trying to reenact the day shortstop Bert Campaneris played every position in a single game (Campaneris’s feat was achieved during an actual MLB regular season game in 1965 as part of a promotion by the then-Kansas City Athletics).

The film is partly an actual documentary that shows you what happens when a 47-year-old comedian is allowed on the field with professional baseball players to support a charity. Ferrell puts on the uniforms, goes through a series of trades, cuts, and signings (he was apparently traded from the Los Angeles Angels to the Chicago Cubs for a washing machine), actually pitches and hits against Major Leaguers (he made contact in one of two plate appearances—it looked painful!), and even gets his own page on the comprehensive Baseball-Reference.com (0.1 innings pitched, 0.00 ERA, .000 batting average and two strikeouts in two plate appearances).ws S

But the movie is also a mockumentary of Ferrell play-acting like he’s actually trying to make it in the Majors. He talks about how he does in the clutch (“I live for those moments”), gives a poetic ode to the best play in baseball (“the sacrifice bunt”), and rages at A’s general manager Billy Beane after being traded (“He is a bloodsucking liar who hides in his ivory tower…”).

The HBO special has more laugh lines per joke than the mediocre-but-belovedTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, more heart than the funny-but-formulaicBlades of Glory, and more potential staying power than the crude and forgettable Semi Pro. (I admittedly never saw 2005’s Corky Romano-esque soccer film Kicking & Screaming, but think it’s safe to say that “Ferrell Takes the Field” would win a head-to-head match-up.)

In the years since Ferrell’s last sports-themed parody, 2008’s Semi Pro, his career has taken a general turn toward the surreal and the offbeat. He’s been involved in a string of projects that have been occasionally very funny, often very strange, and almost always original. In 2012, he did the Spanish-language telenovela-themed western Casa de Mi Padre, which was shot in 24 days and felt like it was made for the sole purpose of amusing Will Ferrell. In recent years he’s also done a series of completely gonzo, occasionally art film-inspired beer commercials in places like North Platte, Nebraska and Sweden (these ads are genuinely funny). This past summer, he starred with Kristen Wiig in a deadpan take on melodramatic Lifetime thrillers for that same network called A Deadly Adoption.

While the critical reaction to these sorts of so-ironic-that-they-seem-earnest performances has been mixed, thier common denominator is that Ferrell is quite likely the only person in Hollywood who would have ever possibly done them. This sort of constant spontaneity is an approach that few other comedians share (Bill Murray also comes to mind). So what makes this docu-mockumentary more fun than Ferrell’s previous sports-parody efforts is that it feels—despite the significant planning that was clearly required in order to make it happen—less like an artistic “project” than like an extended Ferrell-ian lark. In fact, the genesis of “Ferrell Takes the Field” appears to be a previous zany stunt where he took the mound for the Triple-A Round Rock Express as right-handed Venezuelan pitcher Rojo Johnson, who was tossed out of the game after his first pitch for throwing several feet behind the batter. As Ferrell’s temporary teammate on the Chicago White Sox Jeff Samardzija says in the documentary, “I think he just kind of ad libs most of his life as he goes.” We are all the beneficiaries of that ad lib. Except for, maybe, the Cubs.