Will Ferrell Outed as Grup

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s new user-supplied video site, FunnyOrDie.com, made a splashy debut this week with a feature in the Hollywood Reporter and a reported 2 million streams for the site’s showcase video, “The Landlord.� The short consists mostly of Ferrell’s sad-sack character facing off against his angry landlord. The gimmick is that the landlord is played by McKay’s toddler daughter, Pearl. How funny you find it will depend on how funny you find a 3-year-old screaming, “Give me my money, bitch!�

We found it not all that funny, mostly because of the comedic laziness of centering your film on a swearing toddler. Plus, we’re old-fashioned enough to be made a little uncomfortable by the concept. Look, Adam McKay can do whatever he wants with his kid, but “The Landlord� feels like an only slightly amplified version of the same my-kid-is-a-tiny-billboard-for-my-tastes sentiment we find so dispiriting in gruppy parents. In the end, what’s the difference between dressing your baby in an “I’m Smarter Than the President!� onesie and teaching her dirty words for your viral video? Big money in venture capital, we guess–Funnyordie.com is funded by Sequoia Capital.