Review #730: 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' (2004)

Will Ferrell is a very funny man. He has the ability to squeeze comedy gold out of the raising of an eyebrow or a silly accent, and usually steals whatever film he appears in, regardless of how long he's in it for. Somehow, his movies tend to be bad, relying on juvenile behaviour and frat-house antics for laughs, which would be fine if any real thought was put into it. Anchorman is a sort of different, mixing childish humour with first-class improvisation from some of the most talented comedy performers working at the moment, and featuring one of Ferrell's most inspired creations. Based on real-life anchorman Harold Greene, who had a talent for sharp suits and a formidable 70's 'tache, Ron Burgundy is an egotistical, chauvinistic and narcissistic ass, but boy can he read the news.

In the male-dominated workspace of 70's 'action news', Burgundy and his troupe are the cream of the crop in San Diego. Burgundy delivers the news, Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) is the lecherous field reporter, 'Champ' Kind (David Koechner) is the loud-mouthed sexist sports reporter, and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) is an innocent with an IQ of 48, delivering the weather and being led astray by the groups antics. Everything seems harmonious until the arrival of the beautiful and ambitious Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate). Ron falls for her and she for him, until the word 'diversity' is introduced into the newsroom, and Ron finds himself with a new co-anchor.

Ron thinks that 'diversity' is an old wooden ship used in the Civil War era, a joke no doubt the product of multiple takes and the actors playing around with their lines. Due to this heavy reliance of improvisation, the film is scattershot and random, and by playing with the rules of random, as many jokes fall flat as they cause you to burst out in fits of laughter. So for every spontaneous accapella version of 'Afternoon Delight' or Burgundy wailing over the loss of his beloved dog Baxter, we have Koecher trying to squeeze laughs out of an unfunny character or an extended joke about Fanatana wearing Sex Panther, a rare and banned after shave which just happens to smell awful.

Anchorman's main success comes from, surprisingly, Christina Applegate. It was one of the first modern comedies to really put some thought into its female character, and rather than her playing the role of whiny other half trying to get her man to behave and grow up, she is vital in bringing to life this dark era of male-dominated office spaces, and she accepts Ron for the buffoon that he is. In the ten years since its release, it has garnered a huge cult following, and led to the release of it's sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues earlier this year. Though I don't share the hype surrounding this film, it's still a consistently funny oddity, and most probably Ferrell's best comedy work.


Directed by: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Vince Vaughn
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie