Three great scenes and the ravishing Christina, but too many flat, juvenile, vulgar non-jokes

Rating: 4/10 (12 July 2017)

Released in 2004 and directed by Adam McKay, "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" stars Will Ferrell in the eponymous role as San Diego's top newscaster in the male-dominated broadcasting of the '70s, but that swiftly changes for Ron & associates (Paul Rudd, Steve Carell & David Koechner) when a talented, driven woman is hired for the newsroom (Christina Applegate). Vince Vaughn plays a rival anchorman.
Howard Hawks supplied the simplest definition of a good movie: Three great scenes. No bad scenes. "Anchorman" gets the first part right with three great comedic sequences (the flute player at the club, the anchorman rumble and the climatic zoo sequence). Unfortunately too many jokes fall flat in between these episodes (Carell's outlandish lines in particular) and there's way too much infantile vulgarity. The first half hour is so bad in this regard I almost tuned out. Christina is stunning, though, and never looked better. Whether the positives outweigh the negatives is your call.
The movie run 94 minutes (there are extended cuts, but I strongly recommend the shortest one). It was shot in San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale, California. WRITERS: Ferrell & McKay. ADDITIONAL CAST: Jack Black, Ben Stiller and several others have cameos.
GRADE: C-