Anchorman - The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Will Farrell followed up his star-making vehicle Elf, which matched his fine-tuned comic obliviousness to a sweet sincerity, with a more arrogant variation on the same character: Ron Burgundy, a macho, narcissistic news anchor from the 1970s. Along with his news posse--roving reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd, Clueless), sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner), and dim-bulb weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell, Bruce Almighty)--Burgundy rules the roost in San Diego, fawned upon by groupies and supported by a weary producer (Fred Willard, Best In Show) who tolerates Burgundy's ego because of good ratings. But when Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate, View from the Top) arrives with ambitions to become an anchor herself, she threatens the male-dominated newsroom. Anchorman has plenty of funny material, but it's as if Farrell couldn't decide what he really wanted to mock, and so took smart-ass cracks at everything in sight. Still, there are moments of inspired delirium. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

 will ferrell's best.
i don't care if you like him or not. this is will ferrell's best movie. the movie grows on you. the 2nd time watching it is even better than the first. brick (steve carrell) steals the show. April 30, 2008

 Greatness
I found myself quoting the movie so often that I needed a copy to keep it fresh. Stay classy Amazon readers ~ April 27, 2008

 Awesome movie! Looks sweet.
You wouldn't think that a comedy could look so much better in HD, but this HDDVD looks awesome. Considering the price, how could you not go and buy it. April 21, 2008

 By the Beard of Zeus! An Anchorman Review!
Anchorman is the story of Ron Burgundy and his legacy as an anchorman on the channel 4 news time that frequents the number one spot in the ratings. His news team includes the sports newscaster, Champ Kind, the investigative reporter, Brian Fantana, and the weatherman, Brick Tamland. In this era of newscasting, only men were allowed to read the news. So what'll happen when Veronica Corningstone enters the picture? A woman who has the experience and the dream of becoming a network anchor. Will that dream come true? As Bob Dylan said, "the times they are a'changin'." Anything can happen and it's something you're going to have to deal with.

Reviewing Anchorman is more difficult than it looks. While it's one of my favorite movies, it's so incredibly random. There is a plot, but it takes a backseat to the memorable and hysterical one-liners from the film that had to be improvised at times. With a movie that's this spontaneous, it's a bit hard to comment on things like the story since it's kind of minimal in a movie like this. The actors who make up the channel four news team portray these characters pretty flawlessly in the film though. They're pretty absorbed in these roles and that's a good thing. It makes this ridiculous movie somewhat believable.

Now I've been a Will Ferrell fan for quite awhile now. He's made some pretty hilarious movies in his career, but this one was the last comedy he did that I really enjoyed. Every comedy he's done after this followed the same kind of formula; little plot and a lot of random one-liners and jokes that seemed to come out nowhere. It's funny the first time around and decent the second time, but after that it gets really redundant. People may find that flaw with this film, but I personally enjoyed it. The movie has almost a cult status for its ridiculousness alone. It's not only a film that continued my appreciation for Will Ferrell, but made me a fan of Paul Rudd as well.

Anchorman isn't really a movie for everyone. If you're looking for a film that has a good story, a lot of character development, or a steady buildup towards anything worthwhile then this isn't the movie for you. This is the type of movie that is designed just to make you laugh. You're not really supposed to think about what's happening or why it's happening. You're just supposed to have fun with it and enjoy the moment at hand. If you can follow something like Family Guy and laugh at the humor in that, then you shouldn't have a problem with Anchorman. You'll enjoy the comedy for what it is and like it says in the narration at the beginning of the film, you'll probably wind up thinking...one anchorman was more man then the rest. His name was Ron Burgundy. He was like a god walking amongst mere mortals. He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo. In other words, Ron Burgundy was the balls. April 19, 2008

  A really over the top spoof of local news coverage.
It does give you the idea, that network news picks the best & leaves the chimps to do local news & cover irrelevant & banal features. The gags are geared to a six-year old. Too obvious for an adult. It reminds me of Late Night with David Letterman. He has a brain-fart & it falls falt. He thinks it will become funny if he repeats it three or four times, then explains the joke. No. Only his fool, Paul Schaefer laughs. Anchorman gives you escapist fare & you'll find yourself predicting what will happen next. Will Farrell sharpened his acting skills since then, but not much. The gang fight with all the local news teams is the funniest scene. That's about it. March 17, 2008

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