Not even close to being as bad as some people seem to think it is......

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2005)

I just saw Anchorman recently, and was surprised to see how many people seemed to hate it. I kind of had to weigh in here to help make the score for this film reflect in a more realistic way its' actual worth. Comedies are kind of like horror movies in that you have to suspend belief to a certain extent and just go along for the ride. If you want a sound, reality based movie, go watch a serious drama. This movie was simply, pure escapement. Sure, it was dumb fun. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. This time around, I wanted a movie with lots of laughs, and Anchorman, by and large, delivered. I came into the movie not having any experience with any of Will Farrell movies, TV appearances on SNL, or anything. I had no idea what I was going to get. What I got was a pleasant enough farce, though by no means a classic. Will Farrell plays the fool quite well, and parts of the movie was pure genius, though most of the laughs for me were generated by the rest of the cast. I mean, how could you not laugh at the biker drop kicking Ron Burgundy's dog off the bridge, or the (very) mean spirited banter between Ron and Veronica over the end credits of the nightly broadcast following their recent breakup? My only complaint was that on the DVD version, I had never yet to date seen so many good scenes wind up on the cutting room floor. My opinion? 7 out of 10 stars. Very close to being the best comedy of the summer, though "Harold and Kumar goes to White Castle" probably edges it out by a hair.