In my review of The Other Guys, I gave Will Ferrell a thorough verbal smacking, and today I have come with a fork and knife to eat my words. In Land of The Lost, Will Ferrell is hysterical. He is kind of doing his same old schtick, but in this setting it works.
Will Ferrell plays shamed scientist, Rick Marshall.
Danny McBride (Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express) plays Will, the redneck owner of a failing tourist attraction.
Anna Friel (the dead girl from Pushing Daisies) plays Marshall's assistant, Holly.
And lastly Jorma Taccone (who hasn't done any notable acting before) plays the monkey creature Chaka.
This movie floundered in theaters -- I only really rented it because I dug the aesthetic.
How can anyone resist seeing the Golden Gate Bridge half buried while Big Ben leans in the background like a drunk uncle at a baseball game? I was not disappointed: collapsing drive-ins, Cadillacs sticking out of the ground like freshly grown sunflowers, and a storefront that is literally just the front of a store. The look of the movie is pretty impressive.
Danny and Will ad-lib a lot and it was probably an improvement on the script. I can't tell if Anna does any improv and Jarme does nothing but grunt and bob around, but both are still good companions for Danny and Will.
The Lizard people (I think they are called Sleestacks) look fake, the dinosaurs look real, and an ice cream man gets eaten. I seriously can't figure out why this movie flopped: it is by no means what one might call "high brow," but neither is it a pile of shit like Gigli.
It is a good rent.
3.5 stars.
