Sometimes, if a person has a problem, it isn’t obvious right away. That’s because the screw-ups, slip-ups and missteps aren’t constantly happening. They are occasional, sporadic at best and often followed by a huge step of progress that would suggest they are on their way to a full recovery. But when the problem starts to become more frequent or severe, you just have to say something.

Which is why I must speak up. Will Ferrell, you need help.

OK, I’m sitting here acting like overgrown manboy Will Ferrell is my close buddy, when he’s actually not (shocking, I know). However, I do own a few DVDs of his that I feel largely represent a lot of his best comedic work (Ferrell’s “Best of Saturday Night Live” DVD, “Old School,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad or Ricky Bobby”), and I feel like I have some merit to speak on the issue.

First of all, it’s hard to believe that Ferrell has actually been leaving his indelible impression on comedy since the time he started on “Saturday Night Live” back in 1995. Ever since, he’s created unforgettable “SNL” characters and stolen scenes in comedies (“Zoolander,” “Starsky and Hutch”). But more than anything, he’s responsible for approximately two-thirds of the movie quotes that appear in conversations among college-aged males. If you tell someone they need “more cowbell,” to “stay classy” or refer to someone as “Frank The Tank,” that’s all Ferrell’s fault.

But this summer, I saw something that finally convinced me that America may be growing tired of Ferrell’s antics. For the highly publicized summer comedy/adventure “Land of the Lost,” Ferrell did tireless and unique promotion, hitting the talk show circuit while also appearing on “Man Vs. Wild” with survival expert Bear Grylls. But after all that, the film only debuted with $19 million on its opening weekend, finishing third behind the hit comedy “The Hangover” and Disney/Pixar’s “Up,” which was in its second week of release.

That is disappointing to say the least, especially since the film, which was loaded with special effects, probably cost more than $100 million to make and market. And the scary part is, there aren’t a lot of excuses you can dig up for why it did so badly other than Ferrell.

In the past, you could always point to something else. He made the dramatic comedy “Stranger Than Fiction” in 2006, which showcased Ferrell’s range and got him away from his usual routine. He got a positive critical reception for his role and earned a Golden Globe nomination, but its $13.4 million opening weekend indicated that audiences only wanted their Ferrell funny, loud and spewing quotable one-liners. Then again, that’s exactly what he did in the comedy “Semi-Pro” in 2008, but it only opened with a measley $15.2 million. I guess in that case, you could loosely blame it on the R-rating or the fact that it was yet another sports movie that followed his turn as a NASCAR driver in “Talladega Nights” and a figure skater in “Blades of Glory.”

But “Land of the Lost” was rated PG-13, had tons of visuals, was targeted towards families and supposedly had one of the most bankable comic stars in movies doing what he does best, but this prehistoric comedy stunk like T-Rex droppings to audiences and critics.

So, what does it all mean? Are audiences fed up with Ferrell? Do they feel like he’s just recycling the characteristics of characters that have earned him belly laughs in earlier years? Maybe he needs strong co-stars. If this is the case, it looks like he’s going to have them when the cast returns for “Anchorman 2” and in the rumored Sherlock Holmes comedy with Sacha Baron Cohen. All I know is Ferrell needs to do something to recover. His career and bankability has definitely got a fever, but the prescription for it isn’t more cowbell.