The Birth of Bear TV

Rating: 7/10 (14 March 2014)

7 of 10. While ostensibly mocking the local TV news of the 1970s, part of the parody of which is local TV news has only become more appearance obsessed and vapid since then, it also mocks all of 1970s mainstream TV.
It's a world where street gang fights happen out of nowhere with ridiculous rules for ridiculous reasons, dogs are superheroes, grizzly bears can be reasoned with, and the world stops for a smoke after sex and to watch panda bears giving birth at a zoo.
It's the sort of film that makes Michael Jackson look like the natural result of an isolated 1970s child star seeing the world through TV. It also makes his videos amusing to watch as unintended satire. Someone popping up singing "Beat it" during the news gang scenes would have been a perfect addition to the absurd, over-the-top humor that dominates this film.
It's also a film that seems wiser with each passing year. Worth seeing before or after Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013).