Too many stupid moments to make it recommendable

Rating: Null/10 (26 July 2004)

(Spoilers) Anyone who watches Saturday Night Live knows that when Will Ferrell donned a mustache, his voice would drop an octave lower and he would put on an ultra cheesy/70's porn star/Malboro Man type of persona that was often hilarious. Stick in a 5 minute sketch and it's gold, but stretch it over 90 minutes, and you're going to have big gaps of non-laughter, and Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy has too many. It's the same old trap the ex-SNLer's keep falling into. There are plenty of chuckle-worthy moments, but there's no real gut-buster bit here--and this movie is really nothing more than a series of bits. Ferrell offers no surprises as Burgundy, like I said, if you've watched SNL, you know what this guy is going to say sometimes before he says it. Steve Carell steals most of the laughs as deranged weatherman Brick Tamland, but his character is mostly hit-and-miss as well. There's also an endless series of cameos (we're talking every other scene) by the same 3 or 4 guys who seem to adore sharing screen time with each other (Stiller, Vaughn, one of the Wilson brothers). Do yourself a favor and just rent SNL: The Best Of Will Ferrell instead.