This is one of Woody Allen's worst movies

Interesting. I rather enjoyed Ferrell for the lightness he provided in contrast to some of the heaviness throughout the rest. But he is an odd presence, no doubt.

For starters, Ferrell is clearly doing a Woody Allen impression. It would have made a lot more sense had Woody actually been playing the Wallace Shawn character. Don't get me wrong, I like Shawn, but since his character is the "comedy" portion of the story, having Allen play this role would explain Ferrell's character as a projection of him.

The other thing is that Ferrell is just one of those actors that exudes "funny" no matter what he does. He had tried, it seemed, for several years to be more serious in things like "Stranger Than Fiction." Here, he may be trying to balance the two. His serious side or pathos is simply not very expressive, I'm afraid. I don't know how to explain it, and it could be our own preconceived notions of him in other fare. When he plays "straight" or serious, he just seems funny. Think about it: Ron Burgundy is a deadly serious individual too, but that's why he's hilarious.

I'm thinking Farrell eventually conceded the above point. He and Kristen Wiig starred in one of those Lifetime movies a couple of years ago and played it completely straight. It was a strange experiment because it was indeed funny by virtue of their presence, although it contained no jokes, per se.

The funny thing is, although I know I've seen it, going by the description of the plot provided, I don't remember anything about it.