This review represents one of the major failures of
my rating system. I should not be granting Anchorman:
The Legend of Ron Burgundy a score of three buckets;
it’s a stupid, silly, forgettable motion picture. These
traits do not usually merit a recommendation. But, it is
worthy of a night out to the movies, and according to my
definition, this score is only appropriate. Anchorman
is so silly it’s funny, especially because of our
genuine leading actor, Will Ferrell. I’m not sure
there’s anything the man can’t do; he’s a funny guy
inside and out, and it is a pleasure to see his
abundance of talent put to good use.
Straight from the first few
frames, which read “The following is based on a true
story. Only the names, places, and events have been
changed,” audiences will know that Anchorman is
stupid. Usually, though, Ferrell-stupid means
good-stupid, and good-stupid means laughs. And while I
was worried about the quality of this film for the first
twenty minutes, which basically serve as painful
camera-masturbation for the otherwise hilarious star, I
had been won over come its end. No matter how random the
plot and dialogue may be, all is well with the world as
long as they’re funny. Here, it would be a crime to deny
the ingeniousness of the humor.
Ferrell plays Ron Burgundy,
the lead anchor for San Diego’s Channel 4 News, fronting
his team of four casters. His three fellow newsmen are
all dimwits, like him; but they all share a common
obsession with sex. So, it’s only natural that when
Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) begins to
work for the station, they all go after her
“breathtaking hinny.” Only Ron is able to succeed in
winning her over, and then announces their current
relationship and sexual advancements on the air, in his
state of glee. However, when he is late for work one
day, after a nasty encounter with a motorcyclist (Jack
Black), Veronica must take over for him. After manager
of the station (Fred Willard) sees a two-point increase
in the show’s ratings after she takes his position for
the day, he promotes her to being a co-anchor with him.
However, this is appalling to Ron and the rest of the
crew, seeing that women anchors are unheard of. And, as
you may have guessed, trouble in paradise follows, for
the couple.
Ferrell penned the screenplay
along with his writer-buddy from Saturday Night Live,
Adam McKay, who also directed the movie. While the
script isn’t too shabby on the whole, it represents a
weakness for comedy. Most of the laughs in Anchorman
are noticeably generated by the outrageous
improvisations and the charisma of the cast. Ferrell’s
co-star, Christina Appelgate, delivers quite a good
performance, considering the fact that she’s been in a
slump for years, now. This is the right role for her;
not requiring too much comedy or skill to master, but
still not one-note. I was surprised that she exhibited
true talent here, one thing that was missing in her
performance in the recent, abysmal A View from the
Top. Steve Carell is also amusing as Brick Tamland,
the retarded sports reporter on the news show.
The cameos deserve special
recognition. I already mentioned Jack Black’s
participation in Anchorman, but he only
represents the tip of the iceberg. Vince Vaughn, Ben
Stiller, Tim Robbins, and Luke Wilson all participate in
a Gangs of New York style fight amongst news
stations, in an absolutely hysterical sketch. Trident
throwing and hand grenades should be expected in the
heap of chaos.
With Anchorman and
Starsky and Hutch, it seems as though the ‘70’s are
being brought back to life. The latter picture was more
of a spoof of the general time period, whereas this one
aims itself at more specific areas of it, through
nuance. They both share the same picturesque view of the
time in their hilariousness (aside from Will Ferrell,
Ben Stiller, and Vince Vaugn), though. I like this type
of satire, and I hope that pictures of its kind only
improve in the future. Anchorman makes a small
step up in quality from its predecessor. Who knows what
will come next? We all know we’ve been waiting for
another cheery disco montage or, dare I say, a third
Brady Bunch movie. Heck, if Farrell were to play
Marcia, I think I’d be up for that.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews (7.10.2004)