Review
Pop Culture Happy Hour
Will Ferrell’s wacky golf comedy ‘The Hawk’ isn’t up to par
The Hawk
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AISHA HARRIS: Look. Will Ferrell is starring in his very first sitcom, The Hawk. And the show’s perfectly pithy theme song pretty much all the setup.
HARRIS: [THEME MUSIC] They call him The Hawk
HARRIS: He’s a golfer The greatest golfer in the world
HARRIS: Yes. That is the whole theme song. Might be the best part of the show, if I’m being honest. But, look, the role of a pro golfer known as Hawk isn’t really a stretch for Ferrell, which is to say, if you’ve loved watching him play these self-absorbed goofballs in stuff like Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory, maybe you’ll be into this too. Plus, he’s reunited with some funny collaborators from throughout his career– Molly Shannon, Luke Willson, Chris Parnell. The frat pack vibes are very high, but they’re filtered through a very of-the-moment lens, I’d say. I’m Aisha Harris. And joining me today on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour is journalist and host of the movie review podcast SEATED, Tre’vell Anderson. Hello, Tre’vell.
TRE’VELL ANDERSON: Hello, Aisha. I’m excited for this one.
HARRIS: Ooh, me too. Also with us is Ronald Young, Jr. He’s the host of the film and television review podcast Leaving the Theater. Hey, Ronald.
RONALD YOUNG, JR: Long time no see, Aisha. Glad to be here with you.
HARRIS: Ah, yes, always, always a pleasure. So, look, a lot goes down over the course of The Hawk’s 10 episodes, but the gist is this. Will Ferrell’s playing Lonnie Hawkins, a past-his-prime golfer on a relentless quest to clinch a career Grand Slam. But he’s carrying tons of personal baggage that threatens to derail his aims, most notably a rivalry with his troubled son, Lance, who has followed in his dad’s footsteps and is also a successful pro golfer. Lance is played by Jimmy Tatro. You’ll know Tatro from the first season of American Vandal or, more recently, the action comedy movie Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice. The Hawk is streaming on Netflix. And, Ronald, I’m going to start with you. I have a sense of how you feel about this show, but tell me. Tell everyone. Tell us all. Were you into The Hawk?
JR: OK. So when the show started, I didn’t like it. And they were leaning into Will Ferrell and his Will Ferrellness. And they were trying to kind of get that old thing back, as I would say. They were playing the hits early on.
LONNIE HAWKINS: You are a ball. I’m a man– classic redemption story. We both come from humble beginnings, yet together, we will reach unimaginable heights.
JR: And then Fortune Feimster shows up. And I felt like it got a lot better when there was interplay between the two of them. But inexplicably, they kind of couch Fortune Feimster, in a way. She becomes kind of background or only a setup to more Will Ferrell jokes. And the show just kind of spirals into one long, fratty nonsensical slog for the rest of the episodes. By the time I got to the final episodes, I was just like, please, just be over already. And it’s an unsatisfying ending. I’m not rooting for anyone by the time it’s over. I’m not sure who I’m supposed to be rooting for. I don’t know who the protagonists are. I was only rooting for Fortune Feimster. Molly Shannon also, great job. But other than that, I’m not sure why we were here, except for the fact that they wanted to give Will Ferrell some money, it seems like.
HARRIS: So, Fortune Feimster, I agree. She was the best part of the show. She is playing Sam, who eventually becomes Lonnie Hawkins’ new caddie after his previous caddie and his, like, best friend confidante, who’s played by Keith David, Old Henry, he just dies on– dies on the golf course in, like– within the first 10, 15 minutes of the show. And Sam steps in, and she becomes sort of his sidekick, but the sidekick, who, I think, like– at least, like, myself, doesn’t know anything about golf, doesn’t care about golf.
SAM: Did you know chickens can memorize over a hundred faces?
HAWKINS: Where did you say you caddied before?
SAM: Oh, I didn’t, ’cause I haven’t. The only time I’ve been on a golf course was doing donuts in high school.
HARRIS: And, yes, Molly Shannon is playing Stacy, Lonnie’s estranged wife, which I guess gives a lot of comedic– is it comedy? I don’t know. But, Tre’vell, I need to hear from you before I say any more.
ANDERSON: Yeah. I’m right there with Ronald. I did not enjoy this, from the beginning, if I’m being honest. Fortune is the best part. And I think in so many ways, The Hawk was trying to give us that “ooh, ah, ah” sensation of yesteryear. It just didn’t work. I was looking for something more, something different. It felt like one of those movies that you’ll just– you know, it’ll be number one on Netflix because we’ll put it on, and then we’ll go wash dishes or something. You know what I mean? That’s the vibe and the energy it gave.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. I think I’m a little bit softer on this than both of you. Look, I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m going to return to this anytime soon or ever.
JR: I came ready to fight, Aisha. So be careful where you go with this.
HARRIS: Look, I agree that it kind of throws a lot of darts at the wall or throws a lot of putts. I don’t know golf. It does things. It tries to do a lot of things. And it goes from being sort of–
HARRIS: –this quest for the career Grand Slam. But then also, you know, Lance, his son, Will Ferrell’s character son, has a gambling addiction, amongst many other issues. I think you can’t have a sports show that’s set in the present day now without having that aspect of it. I at least admire the fact that they try to incorporate something that feels true to the way sports are consumed and the way sports are played. I don’t know if the comedic side of that works. I think it takes kind of a lighthearted approach. It tries to balance, like, the darkness of what’s going on with Lance’s character with, like, the world of Will Ferrell, which I don’t think those worlds mesh very well. There’s also so many product placement. Like–
ANDERSON: They’re everywhere.
HARRIS: I think that’s where, like, there’s a sensibility here that feels like it is trying to call back to a Talladega Nights and whatnot, especially when you think about NASCAR, when you think about, well, any sports. It’s all about corporate interests. So you get all these references to, like, Middle American franchises, like Chili’s and Red Lobster.
ANDERSON: Carrabba’s.
JR: Outback, Buffalo Wild Wings.
HARRIS: Outback, yes.
JR: Popeye’s, Mike’s Hard Lemonade– all of them.
HARRIS: Yes. I mean, they’re not just in the background. It’s like they’re incorporated into the script.
HAWKINS: And then the side– [SIGHS] the most perfect baked potato, I mean, just swimming in sour cream and chives.
SPEAKER 1: Oh, you’re making me hungry, Lonnie.
HAWKINS: And here’s the crazy thing. It’s just a random Outback somewhere outside of Dallas, you know?
SPEAKER 1: I sure could use some of them bloomin’ onions they got.
HARRIS: There’s a very kind of 2000s sensibility, that sort of frat pack feel that, like, I’m not sure entirely gels with where we are at now. But, like, overall, the nostalgia, though, like, I feel like there were moments that I enjoyed. Like, I like all of these performers, but there’s not much to hang your hat on here, right?
JR: So I think the biggest problem– and I think this would have fixed this immediately– just make it a movie. Make it a movie. We could have been in and out. That they dragged this out. There are scenes that have no business being as long as they are. There’s a whole funeral that happens in the show. The Hawk, Will Ferrell, is unable to make it to the funeral. And there’s a part, I was thinking, where, if this were a movie, this probably would have been a two- to three-minute sequence, where he shows up late, essentially, right? The fact that that took 22 minutes for them to get to the point, which wasn’t much of a point by the time that they got there– so I didn’t understand. And there’s multiple sequences like that in the show, where I immediately thought, if this had been a movie, it would have sped along, and it would have worked. But I think the fact that they stretched it out into a television show is what, to me, is mostly what kills what we like about Will Ferrell, especially in this environment.
ANDERSON: If it was 90 minutes, you’re absolutely right. We’d be having perhaps a different kind of conversation. But because they feel the need to fill, you know, 10 episodes with stuff, we end up getting back and forths about boner jokes, for example, you know, extended. Oh, but you like those, Aisha, I think. You’re laughing.
HARRIS: Well, no. No, I– no, I’m– no.
HARRIS: Those are my least favorite parts.
ANDERSON: OK, good. Same.
HARRIS: But, yes, there are boner jokes. There are also long, extended sequence of the “Thong Song.” I love that song as much as the next person. I think it’s a classic. I will never turn that off if comes on. But do I need Will Ferrell, like, mouthing the words to the “Thong Song” on a golf course with Keith David in the– like, no.
HARRIS: But– but that– but that would be, like, the post-credit sequence. I think that that is the problem, right? It’s like, you are trying to both tap into that nostalgia of what Will Ferrell has meant to multiple generations of people and also what, like, someone like Molly Shannon has meant to multiple generations of people. But then, like, Will Ferrell’s character is just kind of baffling in not just his quest for what he wants to do, but also in just, like, being– I feel like it’s calcified, right? Like, the Anchorman, the Ron Burgundy, that felt like very pointed satire, where here, I think we’re supposed to actually, like, kind of like this dude, even though he is awful. Like, he’s an awful parent. He’s not at all attentive to anyone else’s desires or needs. He literally, like, steals a piece of property off of his dead caddie. Like, that was the other thing, that, like, if you’re going to have Keith Davis–
JR: Yes. Problematic. Wow.
HARRIS: –play a character named Old Henry, who is a caddie–
JR: What was that? Yes, yes.
HARRIS: And at one point there is a Legend of Bagger Vance reference, but, like, not related to his character.
SAM: Well, I haven’t seen a Black person play golf in, like, three days.
HAWKINS: Well, they play. They play all the time.
SAM: Hmm. OK.
HAWKINS: Tiger Woods.
SAM: Uh-huh. That’s who you got?
HAWKINS: Yeah.
HAWKINS: Bagger Vance.
SAM: Fictional.
HARRIS: And so I was just like, we’re just going to kind of dance around this whole weird racial dynamic between that character and this character, and then you kill him off. Like, ah, it made me so angry. Like, why do you cast Keith David and kill him off? And I feel the same way about Molly Shannon, where I’m like– ah, I hate to use the word unlikable, but, like, I don’t understand who this character is and why we’re supposed to care about her. She’s very focused on her new alcoholic drink called Teed Off, which is, you know, a golf play. Ha, ha, ha. But yeah, I don’t know. There’s just something– something just, like, very kind of eh about it. But at the same time, again, I kind of liked it. I don’t know. Well, we’ve got a lot more to talk about, and we’ll back after this break.
HARRIS: Welcome back. If you’re into what you’ve heard on PCHH, you’ll love what we’re sending out in our newsletter. Every week, we catch you up on hot topics, recommend your next watch or listen, and go deep into the culture of stories we didn’t cover on the show. Subscribe today at npr.org/popculturenewsletter. Ronald, what are thinking about?
JR: I just– I got to point out, we were talking characters. The Natalie character– I was utterly baffled by that character.
HARRIS: Katelyn Tarver.
JR: Yes. She shows up early. I don’t know if she’s good or bad. And then she’s gone. And I don’t understand what her impact was supposed to be. If we just go technically and just say the pacing was weird and that the character development was all muddied– and to say that it doesn’t rise to a level that’s funny enough to outpace those basic issues, to say, like, hey, is Lance good or bad? Is Lonnie good or bad? And my thing is, even if they’re not, even if they’re somewhere in the middle, you’re not even doing a good, nuanced job of dictating that to us based on their interactions with each other, because it seems like they’re all bad enough that they should all get along a lot better without kind of this weird family tension between the three of them, specifically between Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, and Jimmy Tatro as Lance, Stacy, and Lonnie. So yeah.
HARRIS: Yeah. And Natalie is playing, at the beginning of the show, Lance’s fiancee, right? And so there’s also a weird dynamic between her character and then the Molly Shannon character. Basically, Molly Shannon is playing a boy mom, and it’s kind of weird and gross. And Natalie, his fiancee, points it out, rightfully so.
NATALIE: Your mom runs up and kisses you after every round you play.
HAWKINS: Only if I win.
NATALIE: Well, maybe when you win today, you could kiss me instead of your mom.
HARRIS: That’s the thing, right? Like, we have so many characters and so much plot. It gets to the point where, like all of these movies of that previous era and shows like this, they always have to amp up the escalation. But the way it ends is just, clearly, they think maybe there might be a second season. But I’m not sure–
ANDERSON: Ugh. Please, no.
HARRIS: I don’t know where that would go.
JR: Don’t do it again, please.
ANDERSON: Please, no. But yes, you’re right. They kind of end the show in that way.
JR: Just make it a movie. Make it a second-season movie.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes, yes, yes. There’s not that much to the show. I think that’s the problem, right? The jokes aren’t necessarily landing. That would be fine if maybe there was something, some dramatic tension here. But there isn’t– like, this show just kind of exists, right?
ANDERSON: Yeah. I mean, I feel like it wants to be, like, unoffensive in its simplicity. But it also has this, like, raunchy, edgy air about it that I think is supposed to– you know, it’s supposed to remind us of this style of a production that many of us are familiar with from the early 2000s in particular. But for me, I just did not feel like there was any evolution. It feels like a movie that would have came out shortly after Blades of Glory, right, in terms of its style, in terms of what it’s asking its characters to do. I will also say, for myself, one of the co-writers of this is Harper Steele, Will Ferrell’s longtime collaborator. They did a Netflix about Harper Steele coming out as a trans woman called Will & Harper and developing their relationship and going cross country. And so I was hoping for a little something fresh, a little something different this go-around with this project. And it’s not there, unfortunately.
HARRIS: Well, look, it sounds like we were not all fans of The Hawk, but we can’t like everything. And also, you probably clicked on it, and maybe you felt the same, or maybe you felt very differently. That’s OK. That brings us to the end of our show. Tre’vell Anderson, Ronald Young, Jr, thanks so much for being here. And, you know, they can’t all fly. It’s OK.
ANDERSON: It is OK. Thank you, Aisha.
JR: Thanks for having me.
HARRIS: This episode was produced by Liz Metzger, Hafsa Fathima, and Mike Katzif and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello Come In provides our theme music. Thanks for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I’m Aisha Harris, and we’ll see you all next time.
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