The meaning of the word "feral" is to be "Wild...untamed and not domesticated, such as a beast." The meaning of the word Ferrell, as in comedian Will Ferrell might be something very similar in description. Ferrell is a comedy beast; an untamed spirit who has such a ferocious theatricality about him, he can just as easily crack up a stuffy celebrity-filled auditorium at the Academy Awards as he can a lethargic studio audience at the die-trying Saturday Night Live series.

He seems to have two modes of comedy; either playing an overbearing competitive jock, who has been incarnated into everything from a drill instructor to an anchorman, or acting just plain loony and in touch with a reality not of this earth. His manic enthusiasm in inhibiting characters and then letting these identities blast off into outer space somewhere, is unsettling and no doubt scares a lot of people into contagious laughter. His comedy impersonations, most notably George W. Bush and James Lipton of Inside The Actor's Studio, are not as complimentary or even as effective as the usual Saturday Night Live famous character spoof. While he captures certain mannerisms of his fellow show business foes--again, he cannot contain the comedic beast within. Soon, Ferrell has even these famous impersonation characters going completely bananas, or if you will, speed-racing into disaster. His impersonation of George W. Bush was right on, because of course as many know, George W. is already off in space somewhere. For virtually all of his other characters, impersonated or not, his confounded audience is left laughing to keep from shrieking--and fleeing the auditorium.

I don't think Will Ferrell has achieved the leading man charm of comedy kings Jim Carrey or Robin Williams. But give him time...his career as a leading actor is just beginning. He already has a natural advantage over most comedians with his dangerous charisma and hungry enthusiasm.

Ready or not, this summer he is starring in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby as Ricky Bobby, a race car driver full of heart (and not much else) who can only count to one. From the previews, Ferrell is sticking true to form and is selling the movie's comedy with his Bush-esque anti-wisdom and of course, his famous predatory screaming. It's the same comedy killer instinct that got Hollywood's attention and made him a star in the first place.

Talladega Nights is actually written by Will Ferrell, just like his previous film, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. That film left something to be desired both in terms of writing and performance. While, Ron Burgundy was a strange creation, and exhibited a lot of Ferrell-like tendencies, it never truly rose above Saturday Night Live triviality and for two full hours, and nearly $10.00 a ticket, you expect a little bit more depth. It's something that took Jim Carrey several years to learn and now he has become a better human being slash jungle creature hybrid starring in more intellectual fare such as Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, The Truman Show and Man On The Moon. It will be interesting in the coming years to see if Will Ferrell can aspire to reach emotional complexity in his roles. Even SNL buddy Adam Sandler has recently been looking himself in the mirror and taking baby step dramatic turns in films like Punch Drunk Love, Spanglish and Click.

For the record, of the "new school" cast of Saturday Night Live, I think Will Ferrell is probably the most naturally talented actor to successfully launch a career from the show--save the late Chris Farley and opposite gender cast mate Molly Shannon. He has a lot of comedic range as he has proven time and time again. But I'm still waiting for something a little more satisfying than just a ferocious roar of competition. He told us Ron Burgundy's news was better than our news. Now he reminds us that Ricky Bobby is number 1 and we're number 2. Got it. But what besides the monstrous and often times hilarious roar does this comedy beast have inside?