Eye Candy #85 - "Land of the Lost"

Land of the Lost: Admittedly, Will Ferrell’s schtick is roughly the same shtick in every picture - goofy middle-aged guy who is often staggeringly stupid bumbles through a situation not entirely under his control. This film is no exception to that formula - crackpot scientist Rick Marshall (Ferrell) has theorized a device that can create time warps but the science establishment turns its back on him. With the help of an admiring grad student Holly and crappy theme park operator Will (Danny McBride), he successfully uses his tachyon machine to transport the three of them to the Land of the Lost, full of Sleestaks, dinosaurs, and little monkey people, just like in the TV show of yore (except the dinosaurs here aren‘t claymation). I absolutely expected to hate this movie. It was much ballyhooed at its release and I was never a giant fan of the original property though I do remember watching it on Saturday mornings growing up. And while it is “based” on the TV show, and it is runs around willy-nilly with the basic premise, this movie is NOT for kids. Sex and drug references abound. And while this is not nearly as funny as some of his other films (“Step Brothers” and “Talladega Nights” are MUCH better), I did find myself laughing at various points in the film much more than I would have expected. I typically like the films of Brad Silberling (“Lemony Snicket“, “City of Angels“), and he doesn’t spend a lot of time wading around in the silly comedy pool, so I suppose if this kind of film had to be made, I‘m glad he‘s the director that had to make it. Good for a few laughs, but not an outstanding effort. Thought it was funnier than “Semi Pro”. Woodchuck sez, “Ferrell fans may like it.”