You oughtta laugh

Rating: Null/10 (8 November 2004)

I've talked to many friends who had very different opinions on this movie: some went expecting "Frank the Tank" with different makeup, some expected more sophistication. In a sense they got both, sometimes though not enough to their satisfaction. While I can't be completely objective with this film (I enjoy Will Ferrell's work WAY too much), I can say that it is enjoyable. While Ferrell's character has a bigger vocabulary than some of his previous characters, Burgundy's depth as a person runs about as deep as a mud puddle.
The pathetic chauvinism and intellectual inferiority coupled with a completely misplaced sense of importance are a riot! The one thing I did find to be missing in this film was a straight-man/woman/character, and unfortunately it does bring down the comedy. With every character being an over-exaggerated caricature, there is no sense of reality to ground the comedy and make it even funnier. While the "Old School" wives (despite their unfortunate fellatio class) were pretty believable as real people, no one in "Anchorman" provides that grounding that adds to the comedy. As many great speech and sight gags as there are (particularly from Steve Carell, who arguably is the big star here), you should find plenty to belly-laugh at without losing your self-respect. Definitely worth at least a rental when it comes out