Anthony's Film Review - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Never before has the news been this goofy and hilarious...

I love satire. I love any kind of movie that makes fun of something we take seriously. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy pokes a lot of fun at TV journalism. Anytime you tune into the television news, the reporters have to keep a straight face. Anchorman still does that, but one thing the audience never knows is this. What goes on behind the scenes? This area of uncharted territory is the perfect place to develop some comedy.

Anchorman is one of those comedy films where the laughs are not just huge. They're unexpected. You never know when something funny will happen on the screen. When it does, you'll be struggling to catch your breath and not lose consciousness. OK, so it may seem like a hazard to your health if you are easily amused. Still, it's the kind of feel-good laughter that wipes away any frown.

Now what exactly makes Anchorman a hysterical comedy? First off, the characters are silly and comical. Will Ferrell as the chauvinistic Ron Burgundy is a likable guy as well as the rest of his news gang. Steve Carell is especially funny as the idiotic weatherman Brick Tamland. And of course, Christina Applegate as Veronica Corningstone and Fred Willard as their boss also have great performances.

The plot itself is a simple one, taking place in the 1970s when only men were news anchors. Everything is fine until a female news reporter comes to the station and is determined to become the first woman news anchor. It's not a bad story. It's a nice one, but it's the constant humor thrown at the audience that keeps this film alive from start to finish. From the men's reaction to Veronica's arrival to an alley fight among rival news teams, the scenes will definitely send people rolling in the aisles.

Overall, I really had a good time watching this movie. It's the kind of movie that I would love to see again, even though I don't usually have the habit of seeing a film more than once. I only regret not seeing it with two of my friends who also saw it. They loved it just as much as I did. Part of the reason I enjoyed this movie is because comedies that are actually this funny are rather uncommon in the past few years. It's so refreshing to see something like this making us smile. It is wishful thinking to say that Anchorman raises the bar for comedy films, but seriously, I would love to see future comedy films as funny as this one.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, visit the Internet Movie Database.

In addition, check out my review of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.