{"id":2644865,"date":"2026-08-14T06:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/review-of-will-ferrells-the-hawk\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T06:13:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:13:41","slug":"review-of-will-ferrells-the-hawk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/review-of-will-ferrells-the-hawk\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of Will Ferrell&#8217;s &#8216;The Hawk&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freview-of-will-ferrells-the-hawk%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2644865&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article critiques Netflix\u2019s golf-themed comedy series \u201cThe Hawk,\u201d starring will Ferrell as Lonnie \u201cThe Hawk\u201d Hawkins, a former top golfer attempting a comeback on a minor league tour. The reviewer notes that Ferrell\u2019s humor in this show is absurd and largely unfunny, featuring silly antics like playing air guitar with a golf club and wearing a frilly red thong, which fail to generate genuine laughs. The supporting cast is criticized for being unfunny and poorly cast, with characters that are unpleasant or stereotypical. The show&#8217;s jokes and content feel mindless, resembling \u201ctrans-fat TV\u201d &#8211; filler programming produced mainly to meet the demands of streaming subscription models rather than to entertain quality standards. The writer argues that Netflix and similar platforms produce a mix of high-quality hits and low-effort filler just to maintain subscriber engagement, which results in shows like \u201cThe Hawk\u201d hardly being worth watching. the piece expresses disappointment in the series,viewing it as another example of the decline of streaming comedy into gratuitous and ineffective content that fails to achieve even basic humor.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though I once checked email in a room where others watched <em>Elf<\/em> (2003), I have otherwise not seen a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2811741\/comedian-will-ferrell-comes-out-with-transgender-documentary-at-sundance-film-festival\/\">Will Ferrell<\/a> performance since his 2000 turn as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/george-w-bush\/\">George W. Bush<\/a> (\u201cStrategery!\u201d) on <em>Saturday Night Live<\/em>. Those wishing to relitigate the merits of <em>Anchorman <\/em>(2004) or <em>Step Brothers<\/em> (2008) will need to look elsewhere. What I can tell you is that Ferrell\u2019s new <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tv\/\">TV project<\/a>, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/netflix\/\">Netflix<\/a> golf \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/comedy\/\">comedy<\/a>\u201d <em>The Hawk<\/em>, is easily the worst show of 2026 and one of the stupidest I\u2019ve seen in years. Whatever one thinks of the mugging man-child\u2019s brand of humor, this is one approach shot that gets nowhere near the hole. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4686807\/new-york-gas-station-customers-dance-for-a-deal-joe-concha\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>New York gas station customers dance \u2018for a deal\u2019: Joe Concha<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4686487\/kennedy-center-board-vote-two-year-closure-renovations\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Kennedy Center Board votes to close facility for two years for construction<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4685872\/national-symphony-orchestra-ticket-sale-plunge\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>National Symphony Orchestra suffering as ticket sales plunge during Kennedy Center takeover: Report<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ferrell plays Lonnie \u201cThe Hawk\u201d Hawkins, a former world No. 1 golfer reduced to hacking it on the minor-league Korn Ferry Tour. Presumably inspired by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/1610901\/can-daly-turn-back-the-clock\/\">John Daly<\/a>, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/3761147\/pga-tour-returns-trump-national-doral-miami-championship-2026\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/3761147\/pga-tour-returns-trump-national-doral-miami-championship-2026\/\">real-life PGA\u2019s<\/a> erstwhile lovable renegade, Lonnie is a beer-guzzling, obscenity-spewing fan favorite well into his athletic dotage. Observing his comeback attempt produces two questions, one narrative and the other aesthetic: Can the ex-champ make it back to the top tour and capture a U.S. Open, thus completing the career Grand Slam? And, more importantly, can audiences be made, on at least two or three occasions, to chuckle? <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The answer to that second question is a firm \u201cno.\u201d Indeed, watching Netflix\u2019s latest effort, I found myself yearning for an old-fashioned laugh track, if for no other reason than to grasp where the jokes were supposed to be. Like far too many streaming comedies these days (<em>Time Bandits<\/em>, <em>The Decameron<\/em> \u2014 I could go on and on), <em>The Hawk<\/em> belongs to its genre mostly on the basis of being absurd. Case in point: In the first few episodes alone, Lonnie plays air guitar with a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2811741\/comedian-will-ferrell-comes-out-with-transgender-documentary-at-sundance-film-festival\/\">golf club<\/a> and sports a frilly red thong. No human being will crack so much as a smile at these gestures, but they are mindlessly silly, so in they go. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\">Will Ferrell in \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d (Netflix)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/08\/localimages\/LA.TV_.Hawk_.081926.jpg?w=696&#8243; height=&#8221;658&#8243; width=&#8221;1024&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Will Ferrell in \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d (Netflix)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ferrell receives little help from his costars, a collection of misfits seemingly chosen on the basis of their unpleasantness. Molly Shannon, unfunny in the best of circumstances, plays Lonnie\u2019s estranged wife as an overbearing scold given to complaints that golfers \u201cwere all squirted out of the same polite white-boy tube.\u201d Jimmy Tatro, as Lonnie\u2019s son, Lance, is a one-note parody of \u201cwellness\u201d liberalism \u2014 the kind of man who says, of his own professional success, \u201cWe\u2019ve been manifesting it up.\u201d Keith David, a voice actor of no small talent, does promising work as Lonnie\u2019s caddie but, alas, falls over dead eight minutes into the pilot. His replacement, played by comedian Fortune Feimster, is a grimly vulgar sop to Middle America as understood by Hollywood. The 46-year-old may well be the least amusing TV sidekick of the decade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Letting <em>The Hawk<\/em> speak for itself is the best revenge I can think of for the hours I spent watching it. \u201cLet\u2019s go for a ride,\u201d Lonnie says to his golf ball, borrowing a gag from the infinitely superior Adam Sandler movie <em>Happy Gilmore<\/em> (1996). \u201cWhat\u2019s his Instagram?\u201d Lance\u2019s fianc\u00e9e, Natalie (Katelyn Tarver), asks upon hearing the name of 20th-century intellectual Gore Vidal. \u201cYou know what\u2019s better than 68?\u201d Feimster\u2019s character quips salaciously. Reader, I\u2019ll let you guess the \u201cpunchline.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">None of this is funny. More perplexing still, Netflix must have known it wasn\u2019t funny but chose to release <em>The Hawk<\/em> anyway. The answer to that mystery lies partly in the multiyear \u201cfirst-look\u201d deal struck between the streaming giant and Ferrell\u2019s production company in 2020. Someone at Netflix clearly wants to be in the Will Ferrell business. Yet the basic laws of the streaming economy are to blame, too. Put simply, the subscription model fairly demands that shows as bad as this one continue to be made. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4664824\/review-britbox-tv-mystery-series-gone\/\">BRITBOX\u2019S MYSTERY \u2018GONE\u2019 IS GOOD, OLD-FASHIONED ENTERTAINMENT <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s how it works: In order to keep us all as members, Netflix and its ilk must release, on a regular basis, a smash hit on the order of <em>Stranger Things<\/em>, a popular prestige series or two (e.g., <em>The Crown<\/em>), and a flock of genre shows with a dedicated following (e.g., <em>Wednesday<\/em>). Yet they must also produce a mountain of gap-filling nonsense for the rubes \u2014 what <em>TV Insider<\/em>\u2019s Matt Roush once called \u201ctrans-fat TV,\u201d summoning its anti-nutritional value. <em>The Hawk<\/em> is a nearly perfect example of a series designed for that final category. It doesn\u2019t have to be good. It just has to fill a \u201cwhat\u2019s new\u201d slot on the app for a weekend. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That such shows travel in groups should thus be no surprise. Last year in this space, I reviewed Apple TV\u2019s <em>Stick<\/em>, another hideously bad golf snoozer with a washed-up lead (Owen Wilson). Someone, somewhere, is surely pitching an equivalent project (<em>Putter!<\/em>) starring Amber Tamblyn or Shia LaBeouf. One risks accusations of elitism for calling these programs what they are, but so be it. I am indeed too good for <em>The Hawk<\/em> and its television kin. And so are you. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Graham Hillard is the TV critic for the <\/em>Washington Examiner<em> magazine. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I haven&#8217;t watched much Ferrell since 2000, except for a brief email check while others watched Elf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":956,"featured_media":2644866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/LA.TV_.Hawk_.081926.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7958,84143,34310,84142,44324],"class_list":["post-2644865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-comedy","tag-hollywood-films","tag-movie-review","tag-the-hawk","tag-will-ferrell"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/LA.TV_.Hawk_.081926.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/956"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2644865"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2644871,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644865\/revisions\/2644871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2644866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2644865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2644865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2644865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}