Details
- Title
- Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgandy
- Director
- Adam McKay
- Cast
- Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Kevin Corrigan, Chuck D.
- Length
- 91 min.
- Released
- 2004
Review
This could easily have swung several ratings points in either direction. Well, several in one direction, one in the other. That its cast includes several members of the current Saturday Night Live crew does not bode well. Though this isn't an adaptation of a skit, we can't help but think back to the unthinkable evil of Superstar, a Night at the Roxbury, the Ladies' Man and countless others. Thankfully, this is immesurably better than any of those. It does, however, suffer from some of the same faults. It feels like one joke spread too thin over too much movie. In this case the one joke, the character of the subtitular arrogant newscaster, is hardly the main attraction. Will Ferrel has a few funny lines, but most of the humor comes from Steve Carrell, the rival networks anchors, and various peripheral players. Will Ferrell has certainly brought the few moments of life to many of the last half decade's worst movies. Here, finally with his own starring vehicle (and more so than in Elf), he has finally hit overkill. There are points we get sick of Farrell and his non-stop mugging. He's not so interminably irritating as Mike Myers or Adam Sandler, though, thankfully.
There are a handful of genuinely clever comic setpieces, the gang fights between the networks, and no story to connect them together. Which in this case is a blessing. There are all the cameos you'd expect, but at this point Ben Stiller is really just a piece of Vince Vaughn. Or vice versa, I haven't quite figured it out yet.
- Rating
- 3/8
- Reviewer
- Pat Jackson
- Published