Fred Willard could make a foolish remark sound like a useful contribution. His cheerfully unqualified professionals are funniest when they have no idea anything is wrong, and Christopher Guest gives that confidence room to work.
Fi1m perspective
In Best in Show (2000), dog-show commentator Buck Laughlin offers foolish observations with the assurance of a man making himself useful. Fred Willard plays him without embarrassment, leaving us to notice what Buck cannot hear. We laughed hardest at his commentary because he sounds so certain that he is helping. The performance is broad, but there is no need for Willard to signal that he knows better than the man he is playing.
That cheerfully unqualified professional was a familiar Willard part, developed across television and film. He gained notice as Jerry Hubbard in Fernwood 2-Night and America 2-Night in 1977–78, before becoming a regular in Christopher Guest’s improvising ensembles. In Waiting for Guffman (1996), he played Ron Albertson, a travel agent pursuing community theatre. A Mighty Wind (2003) gave him folk-music manager Mike LaFontaine. Guest’s films made particularly good use of his ability to produce nonsense that sounded entirely natural to the speaker.
Guest finds a particularly useful place for him in Best in Show. Buck’s commentary is less restrained than the quieter conversations, and the change of pace is welcome. A turn this broad could unbalance an ensemble; here, it gives the film its biggest laughs without doing so. A few routines settle into repetition before the film is finished.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) puts him in the more conventional supporting role of news-station director Ed Harken. Adam McKay’s film is loosely assembled, and we recommend it for its cast rather than its construction. Willard’s flustered professionalism belongs comfortably in that company, though the part gives him less room than Buck Laughlin does. His continued television work included Frank Dunphy in Modern Family (2009), another reason not to mistake the Guest films for the whole career. Start with Best in Show; a little repetition is worth tolerating for Buck’s commentary.
Biography
Fred Willard was an American actor and comedian. Born on 18 September 1933 in Shaker Heights, Ohio, he died on 15 May 2020 in Los Angeles.
He trained with the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. Willard appeared in several Christopher Guest mockumentary films, including This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000) as commentator Buck Laughlin, A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006).
On television he received Emmy nominations for recurring roles as Hank MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond and Frank Dunphy on Modern Family. He also voiced characters in films including WALL·E (2008).
