Get real, Ferrell is producing and playing the part and you’re defending him because he didn’t write it?
Writers are a dime a dozen, just check the paper backs sometime.
No, not defending him because he didn’t write it. The very fact that he would take such a part or think such a movie is worth filming does not say good things about his character.
But the original idea still belongs to a writer—someone who clearly has the empathy of a brick, and may have some sort of personality disorder.