As of April 8, 2019, comedy legend Gary Sanchez is as good as dead. Sanchez, who is credited as being a “Paraguayan entrepreneur and financier,” is actually the fictional inspiration behind Gary Sanchez Productions, a production studio formed by comedic duo Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. The studio, and specifically its two co-founders, have been behind some of the greatest comedy films of not just the last couple decades, but of all-time.
In early April of this year, Ferrell and McKay both decided to step away from their production company, while also effectively ending their creative partnership of 15 years. To commemorate the legacy these two men leave in their wake, as well as the effective death of Gary Sanchez, I watched through some of my favorite McKay and Ferrell collaborations.
It is only fair to start out in a time before Gary Sanchez, in which two fledgling Saturday Night Live alumni (and a few of their closest friends), put together a comedy film that shaped a whole generation’s humor. That film is 2004’s “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”
Written by both Ferrell and McKay, “Anchorman” tells the story of Ron Burgundy (played by Ferrell), a news anchor struggling to deal with a new female co-anchor in the 1970s. “Anchorman” introduced the world to the humor that would become a staple of the two comedians; a weird mix of pop culture references, absurdist humor and machismo parody.
“Anchorman” viewings with my dad are some of the fondest memories I have. To be able to experience the gags from those films develop from on screen to real life inside jokes helped shape my humor to what it is today. “That escalated quickly” gets just as much of a laugh from now as it did the first time I saw it.
The second film in what Ferrell and McKay refer to as the “the mediocre American man trilogy” is a NASCAR racing fueled comedy entitled “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”
What “Anchorman“ did for poking holes in the sexism of the 70s, “Talladega Nights“ did to the Southern culture of mid-2000s. The movie showcases what is perhaps Ferrell’s best physical comedy performance, while also lampooning American culture and what it had become.
“Talladega Nights“ is as much of a commentary on contemporary American as it is a comedy film about the over the top world of competitive racing. While no one ever accused McKay and Ferrell’s comedy of being subtle, the film has become embraced by the very culture it was deriving its source material from. Which makes it all the more a classic.
The final official film in the Gary Sanchez co-founders trilogy team-up is the one that means the most to me. “The Other Guys,“ starring Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as low level cops solving the case of their careers, is everything I think a Gary Sanchez production should be.
Ferrell is at the top of his game, especially with his line delivery. And while his physical comedy doesn’t reach the legendary heights of Ricky Bobby, Ferrell has become a master of exactly the type of comedy America loves. (Probably because he perfected it.)
At the same time, we see the middle stage in the evolving craftsmen that is Adam McKay. McKay, who is now best known for writing and directing Oscar nominated films exploring such dense topics as the 2008 financial crisis and Dick Cheney’s rise in politics, teases what is to come by writing a smart cop comedy that plays to all of his and Ferrell’s strengths while also digging deep into the insides and outs of financial crime.
I consider “The Other Guys“ to be my favorite movie of all-time. It has everything I could ever need rolled up into one film. The action sequences of a “Die Hard“ movie combined with the comedic pacing that makes these two so wonderful together. “The Other Guys“ is a movie that sits somewhere in the obscurity of pop culture, while also being what I consider the most diverse film in the Gary Sanchez repertoire.
“The Other Guys“ isn’t just another comedy film; it’s comedy as an art form.
As you can tell, my passion for these movies cannot be understated. These are the movies that I watched with my dad growing up, my friends in high school, my fraternity brothers and eventually with my own kids. The quotes are used for memes and anecdotes, and I challenge you to find someone who has never seen at least one of the films.
That’s why Gary Sanchez’s loss is more than just the creative differences of two guys. McKay and Ferrell helped shape blockbuster comedies as we know them today and found a way to make a niche comedy taste translate into universally loved products that work sixty percent of the time, every time. So, rest in peace the heart of Gary Sanchez productions. I guess you could say we’re all in a glass case of emotion.