ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY - 2004
Directed by Adam McKay
Starring Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, Kathryn Hahn, Fred Armisen, Seth Rogen, Paul F. Tompkins, and Danny Trejo
Genre: Satirical Comedy (Audio clip)
Is it possible that the comedy here has aged REALLY well? 🤔 This movie is actually tighter and more biting than I remember first seeing it in theaters in 2004 - I mean WOW seeing the prominence of both McCay (who directed) AND Apatow (who produces) during the opening credits just automatically had me bracing for 130 minutes including a tacked-on half hour just for improv but nope, this movie tops out at 94 minutes!
Even the recalled dead spaces (Burgundy and Corningstone's first date, Burgundy walking drinking milk) don't last that long. The story moves and the 95% of the jokes land pretty well throughout and 3 of the 4 leads (Koechner is fine but more one-note) are just on fire! I mean you got the uvulus muscle....glass case of emotions....the pants party....just COMEDY GOLD, Ferrell, Rudd, and Carell are just throwing heat pretty much non-stop. :) Christina Applegate proves to be a great foil as romantic interest/rival Veronica Corningstone …..especially when she's dishing out insults to Ferrell's Burgundy, saying that he looks like a blueberry. 😁 (Audio clip)
There's genuinely sharp stuff about toxic masculinity, "forced diversity", harassment, and of course gobs of stuff about the rise of "infotainment." Much of it on the nose but the behavior from our male leads isn't THAT much of a stretch from the online “Manosphere” idiocy seen today from the likes of Matt Walsh, Andrew Tate, or Ben Shapiro….just to name a few.
Honestly, this even works as a full-on satire as much as McCay's Oscar-nominated Don't Look Up....which I did like but was at least a half hour too long. It was also a first-time watch for my 17 year old daughter who actually found it funnier than Airplane or Top Secret. :o Well maybe....neither of them had Carrell proclaiming that he stabbed a man with a trident. 😅
Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film):
This film is pretty much wall-to-wall with catchy 70’s needle-drops but there were defeinitely two standouts for me including one actually sung diegetically by our Channel Four news team no less! That’s right….about halfway through right after Ron explains to his buddies how he MIGHT just be in love, he demonstrates this by kicking off an acapella rendition of “Afternoon Delight” the 1976 smash single from Starland Vocal Band. Not only is it a kick to hear Ferrell, Rudd, Carell, and Koechner attempting to harmonize – and with sound effects no less – but the expressions of joy on each of their faces….priceless! (Audio clip)
Now the other song…..well it’s only featured during the closing credits but it also featured heavily into the marketing, the TV spots and trailers….and honestly I just kind of feel as if it has become the official theme song for Ron Burgundy, don’t ask me why. It’s just good old-fashioned roots rock which I for some reason find more catchy than most other classic rock from that era…..I’m referring to Topeka’s OWN Kansas. Yes the band Kansas is actually FROM Kansas. The lyrics just have this regal quality to them which seems to match up directly with how Mr. Burgundy talks about himself throughout the movie and it’s another smash hit single from ’76 no less. From their album “Leftoverture” the song is of course….”Carry On Wayward Son.” (Audio clip)
Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):
Honestly with this being such a packed ensemble and barely an hour and a half of runtime, I find it pretty impressive as to how no talent is wasted…..pretty much EVERY-body on-screen gets at least one funny moment to shine whether it be Jack Black’s motorcyclist or Kathryn Hahn’s feminist assistant or….most memorably, this consequential exchange involving famous comedian Danny Trejo as a bartender. (Audio clip)
Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):
I mean wow….take your pick, SO many funny sequences and hysterical lines and/or exchanges. But if I had to pick the most quotable and funniest run of the movie, it occurs early on…..for about two minutes and it all focuses on ONE particular character demonstrating ONE particular fragrance. I’ll give you two words: SEX PANTHER…. (Audio clip)
Undoubtedly Ferrell is killing it and there’s so much talent on-screen here….however for pretty much the second half of the early ‘00’s, Paul Rudd was not only a bit of a man-crush for me but undoubtedly my FAVORITE comedic actor. And for good reason but over a five year period: 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, I Love You Man, and the somewhat underrated Role Models. Now he wasn’t always the star of these movies but I would have put up his on-screen batting average when it came to laughs against ANYONE during that time….and this run pretty much kicked off with THIS sequence which concludes with one of THE more creative insults ever uttered on-screen. (Audio clip)
MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):
As much as Will Ferrell truly IS an anchor for this story with his outsized performance, he clearly didn’t do it alone….he actually co-wrote the script with McKay the director. Together they fostered an environment SO heavy on improv from the cast that I believe there were enough alternative scenes and takes to cobble together for an ENTIRE second feature length version of this story. And you couldn’t have caught each of these guys at a better time: Ferrell was just starting to finish his impressive sting as a castmember on Saturday Night Live and broke out BIG-time as a budding movie star the year before with breakout roles in Old School and previous episode Elf. Whereas after several years of directing episodes of SNL, this was actually McKay’s feature directorial debut. Bottom line, you had two top-flight comedic talents on the upswing – still hungry, still with something to prove – and more often than not, that’s when guys like these are their funniest. For bringing their talents together to deliver one of THE most quotable comedies of the 21st Century, Will Ferrell and Adam McKaye are your CO-MVP’s.
Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Wow I can VIVIDLY remember seeing this opening weekend in downtown Chicago when it FIRST opened….not only laughing my ass off in the theater but laughing JUST as hard repeating the best quotes afterward with those I saw it with over drinks. HOW has it been twenty years?? Well regardless….Happy Twentieth to the Channel Four News Crew and their eventful summer in San Diego!
Streaming on fubo, Paramount Plus, and Pluto TV
And that ends another STAY CLASSY SAN DIEGO review!
