Comedian Will Ferrell, who famously played former US president George Bush on "Saturday Night Live" was equally embraced and criticized for his performance in the new Broadway one-man show "You're Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush."
 
Reactions started pouring following after Ferrell’s play opened Thursday night at the Cort Theatre. While some found the former SNL regular "terrific - sly and subtle, even brave," other critics were bored slightly more than the acceptable average calling the show, in which Ferrell makes his Broadway debut, "a witless, pointless spectacle," USA Today noted.

The Washington Post on the other hand, praised the star's performance for its "gleeful, adolescent spirit. " The show has the requisite amount of collegiate raunch. This is, after all, an actor who has built his fan base playing an airhead anchorman and a loser who believes he's an elf.

Co-written and directed by Ferrell’s longtime creative partner Adam McKay, the 90-minute show kicks off with the din of an unseen hovering helicopter, a cloud of dust and Ferrell/Bush being lowered to the stage at the end of a cable, sitting in the lap of a Marine.

From that point on, the audience becomes a witness to Bush’s ride through the White House, Camp David, the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut, the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, and off San Diego aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, under that banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished."

In addition to his work on "Saturday Night Live," Will Ferrell has enjoyed much success on the silver screen. His many films include "Stranger Than Fiction," "Winter Passing," "Bewitched," "Kicking & Screaming," "Melinda and Melinda," "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Starsky & Hutch," "Elf," "Old School," "Zoolander," "The Ladies Man," "Superstar," "A Night at the Roxbury" and "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." Ferrell also played Franz Liebkind in the film musical "The Producers."