MY 25-minute standing-O goes to Anchorman

Rating: Null/10 (13 July 2004)

Since the start of the new millennium, it appeared to me that great comedy had died. Modern comedies resorted to the cheapest, most obvious, most stereotypical kind of dull-witted humor that had graced the silver screen since the late 1980's and earliest 1990's. Aside from a few sleeper hits, the torch of belly laughs and good clean fun had fallen, and it had fallen hard........ .... But Will Ferrell has picked up this torch, dipped it in gasoline, and has dropped the match....
When I said that Dodgeball was the appetizer for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, I didn't know how right I was. I will admit that I had high hopes for this film. So high were my hopes that some of this review had already been planned in my head, but I thought for sure it couldn't be this good. It's like whenever you ask out a girl and you imagine this whole scenario in your head before you go about you 2 striking a chord, laughing together like children in the womb, and ending the night with a kiss. Then when you call her she says she's going to lie down for awhile and she'll call you when or if she wakes up within the hour....... and....she never talks to you again but....... Maybe this isn't an analogy you can relate to..........
Well... this time... its as if that same girl DID go out with you and you're happily married to her and thinking about children, but not sure if you can fit it into your schedules.
Oihh....In a way that's easier to understand, I expected gold and got platinum.
I feel no need to go into plot details, because who really cares? The plot is just icing in a movie like this and should be as convoluted as possible. Having said that, I must admit that a lot of the time I had no idea where the movie would go next -- adding to my enjoyment. It was just one surprise after another. So I'd rather not explain anytihng about the story for fear I will giving away just one of a nonstop barrage of priceless gags, lines, and character peculiarities.
But what I will say is that I loved how Anchorman has no "gross-out" gag or shock value. By todays standards, it's pretty darn clean if you ask me. So don't expect any lesbian make-out scenes or 5-minute masturbation or semen jokes, cuz you won't find them here. I guess the closest thing I could compare the movie's humor to would be if the cult hit Wet Hot American Summer had a multi-million dollar budget. For those of you unfamiliar, that means the movie is very silly, very hyperactive, very ridiculous, and most importantly ---blatant, unapologetic, relentless retardation. But occasionally the comedy transcends even further into the type of truly bizarre humor that only the likes of Sealab 2021 and Homestar Runner would boldly go. After it got going, the movie went in every offbeat direction that I could only dream of.
The beauty of the movie is that there are so many jokes that probably shouldn't be funny at all and really don't work, but they just do. See, this is one of those rare gems that doesn't care if people think it's funny. It's just a natural. They pull off crap I thought only cartoons could do. Anchorman's comedic climax... involving what I think was a parody of Gangs Of New York... is jaw-dropping both by measure of scale and laughter.
And the casting for this film is incredible. Aside from Ferrell and Christina Applegate, most of the co-stars are b-list. However, the cast is made up primarily of comedians, which range from Saturday Night Live alums like David Koechner and Chris Parnell to Daily Show regular Steven Carell.
I think in it's own way, Anchorman is a bit of a masterpiece, and I honestly don't know how Will Ferrell could top this. This movie made my week and for an hour and a half made me forget what a boring dead-end my life is right now. It's the funniest movie I've seen in years, and there is a such a swell of re-watch-ability to it that there will be no need for me to search for better laughs in the deleted scenes when the DVD comes out ( in the case of many comedies lately, those are the only GOOD laughs). Even the cameos are through the roof. Vince Vaughn's grand total of five minutes in this movie are funnier than his duration in Dodgeball. And  though it didn't need to Anchorman's end credits are loaded with delightful outtakes (one of which is a stroke of brilliance). I had such a great time that when it was all over, I swore on the way home that something bad was going to happen. And sure enough, I found out that my town's shopping mall had caught on fire. I'm not joking.
In conclusion, the reader may have noticed that I have limited the amount of second person in this review. I don't wanna say that "you" will find this movie as hilarious as I did, because "you" may have a different taste in comedy. Point taken. The crowd I saw it with seemed to be as enthralled with it as I was, and that makes me happy. Contrary to popular belief, it puts a smile on my face when the public embraces something as obscure as this. But hey, maybe it's not your cup of tea, and if it isn't, have no fear. White Chicks and Garfield are right down the hall, so you might find one of them a little closer to your pace.
4(out of 4) stars. 10/10... I really did want to stand up and clap for a movie that made me feel so good.