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Movie Review - Anchorman
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Adam McKay |
| Starring: |
Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for sexual humor, language and comic violence) |
| Length: |
91 minutes |
| Genre: |
Comedy |
| Website: |
Anchorman |
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PLOT
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Will Ferrell plays anchorman Ron Burgundy during the male-dominated 70s network TV era. He's king of San
Diego until Veronica Corningstone (Applegate) joins the team and tries to break through the glass ceiling.
Eventually Burgundy is forced to share the anchor desk with Corningstone, and he vows to get rid of her.
Seventies stereotypes and Saturday Night Live skits ensue.
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MR. SHADE'S TAKE
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I'm filling in for this review because Johnny was scheduled for a softball game the night of the
screening. Johnny was forced to give his pass to his sister and, in a bitter twist of irony; the game
was later canceled due to rain. Fortunately, Mrs. Shade was able to see this one with me.
Johnny: I apologize to all my devoted fans. Not only
are you deprived of my usual wit, but you also have to suffer Mr. Shade's usual self-aggrandizement. Um,
I meant to say, "Thanks for filling in, Mr. Shade!" And let me give Mr. Shade monster props for
mentioning the Freaks & Geeks alums later in the review.
I was a bit leery of this film. Having never seen "Elf" I wasn't sure I'd like a film with Will Ferrell
as the lead. The trailer didn't help to get me off of the fence, and guess what, neither did the
movie.
Mrs. Shade: Any movie with 5 minutes of Will Ferrell
having small talk with his dog is probably not going to be one of the funniest movies of the
year.
Johnny: I didn't see the movie, and I can give a big ol'
Southern AMEN! to that. I saw that clip on Conan and failed to smile. Wow, Will Ferrell is pretending
that his dog's barks are in Spanish. Yeah, that's real funny.
While there were a few truly hilarious scenes, they were few and far between. The two funniest scenes
of the movie involved cameos: one with Jack Black as a biker and another with Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn,
Luke Wilson and Tim Robbins all portraying anchormen from other stations.
Johnny: Where was Owen Wilson? In Hawaii filming a sequel
to The Big Bounce"? For his career's sake, I sure hope not.
The scenes with Will Ferrell and his news team tried to make fun of 70s style newscasts, but I just
didn't find them very funny. I was hoping for something like the "Wedding Singer" which did a good
job of poking fun at 80s culture. Maybe the problem is with me; I didn't grow up in the 70s.
Johnny: Well, then you're gonna have to explain the Bee Gees
CD I caught you listening to in your cubicle. And would you care to explain the Andy Gibb
poster?
In the movie's defense the crowd really seemed to enjoy it. Most of the scenes and jokes seemed silly
to me and not in an over-the-top "Dodgeball" kinda way, but there was still
a good bit of laughter from everyone else. While most of the jokes failed to make me laugh out loud,
the sheer enthusiasm of the cast made the film enjoyable. Christina Applegate does a pretty good job
of looking serious (she's not hard on the eyes either) while Will Ferrell is spitting out ridiculous
lines like, "San Diego was discovered by the Germans in the early 1900s." I've never heard of most of
the rest of the cast (outside of the cameos, of course), but they do a decent job.
Johnny: I know Paul Rudd is in it. Many of you may
remember him as the dude who married Phoebe on "Friends." How funny was it when he threatened to
change his name to "Crap Bag"? I guess you had to be there.
The films plays out like a series of skits that are barely held together by the overall plot. Everything
plays off of Burgundy and his team being silly, stereotypical males while Corningstone tries to gain
respect in the office. Both sides duke it out to little comic effect. In the end I would have to say
that Will Ferrell has charisma, and in the right role he could be hilarious. This one just didn't do
it for me.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Will Ferrell co-wrote the movie with former SNL head writer Adam McKay.
- Danny Trejo has a cameo as a bartender.
- Seth Rogen, David 'Gruber' Allen, and Judd Apatow from Freaks & Geeks appear in the film.
- Johnny's middle name is Seymour and his last name is pronounced with a short U sound.
- Will Ferrell finds himself in the same category as Alfred Molina (Doc Ock from Spiderman 2): People
who should never take their shirts off.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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This film has one blatant use of the F word and several other curse words. It also contains some sex
humor and some sexual scenes, but no nudity. Not really a kids' movie but its no
"Eurotrip".
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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I'd say the trailer is a pretty good indication of whether you'll like the movie. There were only a couple
of things I found funny in the trailer and the same was true of the movie. If you thought the trailer was
hilarious then you'll probably really enjoy the movie.
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THE GIST
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If you want to see a comedy at the theater and have already seen "Dodgeball" a
couple of times then you could do worse than "Anchorman." Fans of today's Saturday Night Live and Will
Ferrell will love the movie. Fans of silly comedy will like the movie. And people who only like highbrow
humor will hate this movie. If you're not sure which crowd you fall in then wait to see this one on DVD.
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