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Steve Carell’s departure fromThe Officewas undoubtedly a blow to the sitcom. After his seven-season-long run as the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin, the team had to find a replacement and it was certainly not an easy feat. In walked Will Ferrell and let’s just say that the critical reception of his character was underwhelming and fans weren’t too fond of Deangelo Vickers either.
Over-the-top comedy is what Will Ferrell does best but unfortunately, a celebrated legend was not a fan of it at all – James Caan. The two actors worked together on the iconic film,Elf(2003) but during filming, James Caan was not a fan of Will Ferrell’s comedy and was not afraid to diss him on his face.
When James Caan called Will Ferrell unfunny
Jon Favreau‘s Christmas comedy is hailed as a modern classic thanks toWill Ferrell‘s over-the-top and exaggerated comedy style. His character, Buddy, a human raised by elves, travels to New York to meet his biological father (James Caan) and chaos ensues.
With Ferrell’s comedic genius and a heartwarming storyline to accompany the film,Elfstruck the perfect balance between laugh-out-loud moments and touching family themes. It goes without saying that Ferrell was highly praised by the critics for his portrayal.
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However, while filming with Caan, the late actor simply did not understand how Ferrell’s performance could be considered as funny. On theMessypodcast, theDaddy’s Homeactor recalled how Caan wouldn’t sugarcoat his words in front of Ferrell and would be completely honest about his comedy which he didn’t find funny at all.
Ferrell stated,
He would tease me. I like to do bits but I’m not like ‘on’ all the time. In between set ups, [Caan] would be like, ‘I don’t get you. You’re not funny.’ And I’m like, ‘I know. I’m not Robin Williams.’ And he was like, ‘People ask me: “Is he funny?” And I’m like, “No, he’s not funny.”‘ It was all with love but at the same time…
It looks like the overenthusiastic and childlike Buddy was simply too much for Caan to handle. However, while this comedy style worked forElf,it didn’t really stick out toThe Office‘s audience, making Deangelo Vickers adisappointingaddition to the show. But hey, followingSteve Carell‘s footsteps was not going to be an easy task, no matter how good someone is at pretend juggling!
James Caan stood corrected atElf‘s premiere
WhileThe Godfatheractor didn’t understand Ferrell’s style of comedy during the time they spent filmingElf,he soon realized why the actor did what he did. On theMessypodcast, Ferrell continued to recall how at the premiere of the comedy classic, Caan gave him“the best compliment”ever.
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As they walked out of the theatre after the premiere, Caan pulled his co-star aside and admitted to thinking how his comedy was too over-the-top for the film. However, he couldn’t help but praise him after seeing the final product.
In Ferrell’s words,
He was like, ‘I’ve got to tell you: I thought everything you were doing while we were filming was way too over the top. Now that I see it in the movie, it’s brilliant.’
Ferrell admitted to driving Caan crazy on set with his overenthusiastic portrayal of Buddy, but all’s well that ends well right?
But I love that the whole time, he’s not acting. He’s truly annoyed with me. He’s like, ‘Can this guy shut the f*ck up? Jesus.’ I literally drove him crazy in that movie, just acting like that kid. But that was the funniest thing, him walking out of the theater and shaking his head and going ‘it’s brilliant.’
Well, clearly, Ferrell’s comedy worked wonders for the film but ended up lacking inThe Office.His character came off as more annoying than funny and for someone like Ferrell, who is capable of so much, it was a major missed opportunity.
Elfis available to watch on Hulu andThe Officeon Peacock Premium.
Mishkaat Khan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2256
A connoisseur of all things horror, fantasy, and the occasional chick flick, Mishkaat has been penning pieces for FandomWire since 2022. She started off as an intern and has worked her way up to a Senior Writer with over 2000 articles to her name.Outside of entertainment, she has also written well-researched medical content as a freelance writer and has experience in social media management.When not writing, you can find her relaxing with a romance novel and a tall glass of iced coffee in her hand or watching re-runs of ‘Supernatural’ and ‘The Office.’
