Like a long skit that doesn't know where to end

Rating: 4/10 (11 July 2004)

Call me shallow or even easy to please, but one of the things that I have definitely appreciated this year is how the titles of movies have gotten back to a one or two word name that fits easily a top a theatre marquee or nicely within the margins of a film review. Kill Bill, Troy, and Miracle, all are good examples of studios having enough confidence in a film that they don't feel the need to put half the script in the overhead title. Last year, I exhausted myself trying just to get through the names of films like Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. When you try and stick to a review of under 1000 words or tell someone about a film within 5 minutes at a water cooler, it is a lot easier if the writers and the studios can save you the time of constructing a difficult to pronounce anagram just to save yourself a breath.
Well, maybe my new world of Spartan's and Hellboy's are over and done for with the new Will Ferrell comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (referred to as Anchorman for the remainder of this review). Possibly lengthened for comedic effect or maybe simply because the writers get paid by the letter, it looks like Anchorman has opened the door again and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow's are now crawling into our movie magazines.
Anchorman takes us back to a simpler time. Set in 1970's San Diego, the movie surrounds the crew of Channel 4 News and the changing of the times that effect their male dominated profession. Ferrell plays the title character Ron Burgundy, an egomaniacal scotch-loving womanizer that is the sole anchor of the 6 o'clock news. To the right and left of center chair is the dimwitted weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), the big Texan sports reporter Champ Kind (David Koechner), and the emotional leader and fashionably challenged roaming reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd). Together, the team has assembled to lead the ratings across the major networks for evening news telecasts. They are a tight team, a fun team and a team of out and out morons.
To the credit of their program director, Ed Harken (Fred Willard), an opportunity to diversify the group and add a female presence to the team leads to the hiring of Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate). Immediately, the boys club is not amused. Back in the 1970's women were still fighting their way into male dominated environments and television was one of the predominant holdouts. The disgust of the news team explodes into a shouting match with the program director, but eventually her pushed-to-the-side role is accepted enough that they can forgo their hatred as being considered an equal and focus on the pursuit of wooing the new addition.
Striking out with rapid-fire consistency, the team does get credit for pulling out all stops. In two of the films funnier moments, Brian uses a cologne 'made with bits of real panther' to make an impression which ultimately leads to very rib tickling comments from the newsroom as they rush to vomiting receptacles. And when Brick tries to relay the fact that he has a 'party in his pants' and that Veronica is invited, I will admit to having my fat cells jiggle with a reaction.
Unfortunately, director Adam McKay then diverts the movie into a soap opera where after a brief fling, Burgundy and Corningstone fight for camera time and eventually, a crude sign-off delivered by Burgundy via the always trusted teleprompter, leads to his dismissal from the station and the fulfillment of Veronica's dream to anchor the news. We watch as the pitiful Burgundy drinks himself into a stupor while the team continues to flourish and improve on their number one rating status. Using the 70's backdrop can only provide us with pockets of amusement as this melodrama plays out to what is eventually a ridiculous conclusion and final act.
For those of you that are Will Ferrell fans, he dominates the film with enough screen time to probably keep you laughing for your money. For those of you who find him only somewhat amusing during his brief skits a la Saturday Night Live, this will seem like a television bit that just doesn't know how to close. Every time the film would begin to pick up comedic momentum, it would be tarnished by the need to showcase Ferrell as someone who would not turn down anything he ever read on a script page. His yelling, screaming, crying and love for his dog are so hopelessly exaggerated that they begin to tire the audience out when stretched over 91 minutes. Also noted are that the funnier moments are too off the wall and would probably be better suited for a dream sequence rather than having us believe that as a flute player Burgundy would slide under a men's bathroom stall or that rival news station crews would meet in a back alley with pitch forks, grenades and gladiators on horseback to fight as an outlet to their disrespect for each other.
There are some funny moments in Anchorman and some real interesting dialogue (Did you know that San Diego is German for a Whale's Vagina?), but as a whole, it just didn't keep me entertained. The cameo's were a nice surprise, but only for a second or two and then I wondered whether Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller or Luke Wilson would be able to find work outside of their collaborated efforts. Tim Robbins does a great job in a very comedic 180 from his Mystic River character, but his small presence and big hair doesn't generate anything more than a 'that's neat' from this critic.
I suppose the fact that director McKay had only helmed Saturday Night Live episodes should have tipped me off for what I was about to encounter, but Ferrell's energy in Elf and Old School gave me hope that he could pull what must have been a fascinating idea before put to script papers. I can only hope that his next stab (Bewitched) reins him in and uses his talent as opposed to his audacity. If not, we can always hold out for Anchorman 2: The Legend of Ron Burgundy To the Temple of Doom to Uncover the Cradle of Life.