An Absurdist Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (29 July 2005)

I know. I just used the word masterpiece to describe Anchorman. I must be off my rocker, but I think that many, if not everyone who has seen this fresh, seriously funny film from the ever-talented Will Ferrell is underestimating it. I think that even the people who loved the movie are underestimating it, most importantly, as an artistic film.
Today, I'd like to make the case that Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, a film which contains jokes about poo-covered squirrels, is artistic in nature. I know, that sounds absurd in itself, but bear with me for a moment.
Absurdism has long been underrated as an art form in motion pictures. The Naked Gun, the masterful comedy from Jerry Zucker and Leslie Nielsen, has always been lauded as a "funny movie," but never been even remotely considered as an "artistic accomplishment." The same is generally true for Anchorman. People are quick to point out how funny it is, but shy away when any semblance of art is brought into the discussion.
But Anchorman gains unbelievable strength as a film from the most unexpected of places, namely the fact that much of the film is improvised. Although perhaps it is not improvised to the point where it becomes a Mike Leigh film (where there is no screenplay), Anchorman comes across as spontaneously joyful, throwing jokes around like spitshine as they all center around the same theme: excessive hubris and male chauvinism.
Although Anchorman is absurd, it is not random. Most of the humor deals with the hubris of the characters involved, and how their overt pride in themselves one by one leads to their downfall. Even the moral center of the film, Veronica Corningstone (played with considerable skill by Christina Applegate) suffers from her self-love (insisting on numerous occasions in a condescending tone that she is "a professional.") This is the magic behind Anchorman, that it uses its absurdist mentality for a purpose, rather than letting the humor be an end in itself. By using increasingly erratic, absurd humor, Anchorman effectively challenges common biases that we find in our society today to great effect.
The film is essentially anchored (no pun intended) by the greatest performance of Will Ferrell's career. If there were ever a genre of film that challenges the auteur theory that directors are "authors" of their films, it would be absurdism, because most of the time, with an absurdist movie, it is a healthy relationship between the director and the leading man (or woman) that makes the movie brilliant. One can argue that Leslie Nielsen is as much an author of The Naked Gun as Jerry Zucker is. The same is true with Anchorman. It seems as though the film grew organically from the collaboration of Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay.
And so there you have it. Two hours later, after random bursts of jazz flute, harmonic renditions of afternoon delight, and appearances by a dog that speaks Spanish, you are left with a film that is quite absurd, but is anything but random. Take another look. There's a brilliant film hiding underneath the surface.