As I write this review, I’m still giggling. Kudos to the
movie because I saw it three days ago.
“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” is about an
anchorman for a San Diego tv station in the 1970s named Ron Burgundy.
Burgundy, played by Will Ferrell, is the toast of the town and
the head honcho of the news team, which loves and admires him.
Things change for Burgundy when the network decides to add a
woman, Veronica Corningstone, to the staff. Burgundy falls in
love with Corningstone, played by Christina Applegate, but then
goes to war with her when she becomes the co-anchor. Though the
two eventually resolve their differences, this is not a message
movie. It is a comedy and a silly one at that.
Ferrell, with all of his blustery ego and his “try to sound
wise, but am really stupid” comments proves that he is one
of the most gifted comic actors working today, but his supporting
cast on the news team also pack solid comedic punches. Paul Rudd
and David Koechner both have lots of great moments as womanizing
investigative reporter Brian Fantana and desperately lonely sports
reporter Champ Kind, but Steve Carrell’s Brick Tamland practically
steals the show. The former Daily Show correspondent plays a
weather man with an IQ of 48 and nearly every line he utters
and facial expression he uses is side-splittingly funny. There
were times where it felt I couldn’t breathe anymore, just
laugh and hope that my ribs would eventually stop shaking. Applegate
also added a lot to the film in what would typically be a thankless
role for a less gifted comedic actress.
There were many things that made “Anchorman” a successful
comedy from cameos too brilliant to reveal, an animated sequence,
a fast-paced script, and an amazing attention to detail. If the
costumes and customs of the 70s were exaggerated, it was for
a higher comedic purpose. According to the film, the 1970s were
a time when smoking was acceptable, littering wasn’t dwelled
upon, fashion meant colored suits and hair was feathered. It
was also refreshing to see a comedy that didn’t focus on
gross-out humor or the sexual exploits of teenagers.
Not everyone will find “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” funny,
as it is silly but not slapstick silly. I did like this better
than “Dodgeball” though, which up to this point of
the summer was one of the funnier movies I had seen. If you’re
looking for laughs, “Anchorman” is for you.
