CORPORATE LINE: Will Ferrell (“Elf,” “Old School”) stars as Ron Burgundy, the top-rated anchorman in San Diego in the ‘70s. When feminism marches into the newsroom in the form of ambitious newswoman Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate – TV’s “Married With Children”), Ron is willing to play along at first—as long as Veronica stays in her place, covering cat fashion shows, cooking, and other “female” interests. But when Veronica refuses to settle for being eye candy and steps behind the news desk, it’s more than a battle between two perfectly coiffed anchor-persons…its war.
Will Ferrell co-wrote the screenplay for “Anchorman” with Adam McKay, a former “Saturday Night Live” head writer and co-founder of the Upright Citizen’s Brigade comedy troupe. McKay also made his directorial debut on “Anchorman.” Judd Apatow (TV’s “Freaks and Geeks,” “The Larry Sanders Show”) produced the film, with Shauna Robertson (“Elf,” “Meet The Parents”) and David O. Russell (“Three Kings,” “Flirting With Disaster”) executive producing, and David Householter (“The Core”) co-producing.
“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” also stars Paul Rudd (“The Cider House Rules”), Steve Carell (“Bruce Almighty”) and David Koechner (“A Guy Thing”) as members of Ron’s news team, and Fred Willard (“A Mighty Wind”) and Chris Parnell (TV’s “Saturday Night Live”) as news producers.
THE GOOD: Will Ferrell has cracked us up in the past but as Ron Burgundy he proves that he’s not only a star but also quite possibly the funniest man in Hollywood. Anchorman is destined to be a film much like Caddyshack or any other comedy that still gets quoted today.
A hilarious cast surrounds Ferrell. They start with his righthand men Champ Kind (David Koechner), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), and Brian Fontana (Paul Rudd). Champ is the tough guy sports guy who has secret erotic feelings, Brick is the self-described “mentally retarded” weatherman, and Fontana is the slick on the street reporter. Christina Applegate gets kudos as Ferrell’s love interest Veronica Cornerstone. This is an amazing cast and their chemistry together is top-notch.
THE BAD: If you take yourself too seriously you won’t get it.
DVD FEATURES: For openers there is a commentary track that features Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay that is a lot of fun. There are a good deal of bloopers and deleted scenes that range from hilarious to boring. Will Ferrell does a lot of bits as Ron Burgundy on MTV, ESPN, etc, and are often as funny as the film. There is a making of Anchorman as well, however you won’t find it half as interesting as the rest of the extras.
FRANKLY: You’ll never look at the news the same way again. As dumb as the film seems it’s actually incredibly witty. If you don’t laugh then you must be dead. All hail Ron Burgundy and his band of fools.
+ Charlie Craine
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