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Summary:
It’s the swinging ‘70’s an San Diego’s #1 anchorman, Ron
Burgundy (Will Farrell) is sitting atop the world -- until that
world is invaded by a Veronica Corningstone (Christina
Applegate), a reporter with so much moxie she aims to shatter
the glass ceiling and become the first female anchor.
Steve says:
It’s fortunate that Will Farrell is a genuinely funny guy who is
always a pleasure to watch. That fact guarantees some laughs
during the course of ANCHORMAN, but they are late in coming and
far too few. This movie hangs on the slimmest of premises:
skewering the vapidity of television news. It’s rather like a
sketch, stretched somewhat laboriously over ninety minutes. This
doesn’t exactly shock, since the film is the brainchild of two
veterans of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, Farrell and director/co-writer,
Adam McKay. The unfortunate thing is that what we are watching
is pure premise and doesn’t really develop into any kind of
story at all. ANCHORMAN aims to be as nutty as the classic
AIRPLANE! was but lacks the underpinnings of an entertaining
tale that made AIRPLANE! work -- and still work twenty-four
years after it was made. I felt somewhat akin to the way I did
when I first saw Mel Brooks’ movie, SPACEBALLS, wondering why
Brooks was bothering to skewer STAR WARS ten years after it was
a cultural icon. Everything that Will Farrell attempts here was
done to a fare-thee-well by Ted Knight on THE MARY TYLER MOORE
SHOW, right down to the anchorman’s uncanny ability to read
something off the teleprompter without having a clue what he is
saying. There is no new territory being forged here.
As flat as the material was, the film features some splendid
comedic performances; moments where the actors rise above the
shallow nature of the writing. Farrell is predictably
laugh-provoking as the self-titled “big deal,” Burgundy. But his
work is matched by a delightful performance from Christina
Applegate, whose rendering of Veronica is pitch-perfect. Her
performance is subtle and her timing impeccable. More producers
should remember that Applegate cut her comedic teeth with a
decade on MARRIED WITH CHILDREN. She knows where the jokes are
and how to play them.
Paul Rudd is solid as field reporter Brian Fantana and Steve
Carrell is quietly hysterical as Brick Tamland, the weatherman
with the double-digit IQ. You might recognize Carrell as one of
the “field reporters” on TV’s THE DAILY SHOW. If not, you’re
sure to recall his brilliant bit in BRUCE ALMIGHTY, as the rival
anchorman reduced to gibberish by Jim Carrey. His deadpan
delivery is spot-on. But the usually hilarious Fred Willard is
wasted as the news director who plays straight man to everyone
else.
If you like Farrell, you’ll have a decent time at this movie and
get a few laughs from it. But if you require things like story
and characterization, expect to be disappointed by ANCHORMAN.
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Patty says:
ANCHORMAN was unanchored.
There were laughs, but the jokes were the comedic equivalent of
labor pains. They’re very funny in the moment, but the time in
between doesn’t seem to move the story along and you’re not
having any fun waiting for the next punch line. For me, the
entire film was like watching the 2004 season of Saturday Night
Live. I want to like the skits so desperately that I excuse the
forty-five minutes of banality because I laugh at two or three
of the Bush jokes. Have we already exhausted the supply of
original ideas that are funny? Am I hopelessly nostalgic or is
it just that the stuff that we’re paying nine bucks to watch is
as funny as an IRS audit?
Will Farrell is a funny guy. He could crack me up caulking the
bathtub. His legendary comedic timing has only gotten better as
he has matured. I’m guessing he should stick with what he’s good
at and leave the writing to those who can create funny dialogue
rather than a compilation of shtick. He’s a wonderful character
actor but he’s got to have something to work with. Even Farrell
can’t make material that would work well in a 10 minute skit
stretch for 90 minutes.
There were some wonderful cameo appearances in ANCHORMAN. I’d
tell you about them but if you actually fork out the bucks to
see the film, it will rob you of the surprise of seeing some
really talented actors who evidently in between projects. Maybe
Farrell is holding incriminating photos involving barnyard
animals over their heads....or poker debts, perhaps? Regardless,
it’s a mystery to me why these heavy Hollywood hitters agreed to
lend their substantial talent to such a mediocre project.
Okay, by now you’re probably saying, “Patty, you’re a pseudo
intellectual snob. ANCHORMAN is a parody. Parody is farce.”
Maybe I am a snob, but even farce is grounded in truth. In
truth, I didn’t find ANCHORMAN all that funny.
One kernel. And I’m being generous.
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