'Hangover' puts a hurt on Universal, Will Ferrell

No one at Universal is talking. But it's pretty obvious that when the studio greenlighted the movie last year, it was following the model of 20th Century Fox's success with "Night at the Museum," which put a somewhat edgy comic star -- Ben Stiller -- into a family comedy that boasted eye-popping special effects. In theory, the result would have been "Night at the Museum" meets "Jurassic Park."

On paper, it sounded like a Big Summer Event. But even Big Events need to start with a core audience, and "Land of the Lost" never had a red-hot core. Moviegoing families were put off by the scary dinosaurs and the film's PG-13 rating ("Night at the Museum" was rated PG), while Ferrell fans thought the film looked too soft, especially with a true hard-edged comedy playing next door at every multiplex in town.

The movie itself had no central comic theme or focus. Directed by Brad Silberling, it was filled with everything from a running joke involving "A Chorus Line," a strange acid-trip sequence, homages to Ray Harryhausen and his stop-motion model animation and "Planet of the Apes," lewd primate gags and a scene in which Ferrell douses himself with a jug of dinosaur urine.

Mis-direction

If Universal made a key mistake, it was probably hiring Silberling to direct the film, since judging by some of his interviews, he seemed to be under the impression that he was at work on an exercise in filmmaking art instead of delivering a comedy thrill ride. It isn't easy to find good comedy directors -- and, no doubt, Ferrell and his manager, Jimmy Miller, had a big say-so in hiring Silberling -- but the filmmaker's recent track record hardly inspires confidence (his last commercial effort, 2004's "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," was considered a missed opportunity at creating a family franchise).

The movie leaves Ferrell in a bad place. When Adam Sandler tried to draw his hard-core fans to the family friendly "Bedtime Stories," it wasn't a breakout hit. But it certainly wasn't a total clinker like "Land of the Lost." The verdict in Hollywood: Ferrell hasn't done a good job of managing his brand. Sandler is the master of dumb hijinks. Eddie Murphy has become a cuddly family star. But who is Will Ferrell? No one knows anymore.

He's in danger of becoming the comedy equivalent of George Clooney, someone who enjoys a great deal of goodwill but who isn't actually a real movie star. That's what happens when you go down with the ship, promoting a movie that, as the New York Post's Lou Lumenick memorably put it in his review, "does not seem aimed at any identifiable demographic except fans of bad movies."

--

patrick.goldstein@latimes.com