There was Rhett Butler, Rick Blaine, Rocky Balboa, Raymond Babbit and now: Ron Burgundy...

Rating: 8/10 (8 March 2016)

Every once in a while, a movie character suddenly pops out and becomes an icon despite the limited chronology of his existence. Maybe not 'Forrest Gump' or 'General Maximus' instant icon but something in the same vein than Otto from "A Fish Called Wanda" or Spinal Tap. His name is Ron Burgundy, he's San Diego top-local anchorman, he's tall, nicely built, handsome in a funny way, and wear bright-colored suit that so scream 70's... what do you know, this is when the film is set: good old 70's when TV was the king media.
And Will Ferrell is the king of all kings, a man at the pinnacle of his career, charm and self-confidence. And he just doesn't throne over San Diego, where he's religiously followed by all San Dieg whatever you call them, but he's also the Captain of his winning league, the team work including sports reporter Champ Kind (David Koechner) whose cowboy hat tactfully hides a face-ruining baldness, and makes him look like one of Biff Tannen's sidekicks. There's also Brian Fentana, the news reporter, played by Paul Rudd, the only mustache to compete with Ron's. And there is Steve Carrel as the intellectually challenged Brick, the weatherman.
If Brick is here to provide the obligatory 'non sequitur' lines (and by obligatory, I don't mean they don't work), the two other sidekicks are like Burgundy's clones with something lacking. What exactly? Well, since Burgundy doesn't strike as the brightest bulb in the box, let's say he's the most confident over his talent or maybe he's the best prompter reader (which will cause him a few troubles). So we meet Ron when he's at the top, and since he can't get higher than that, we expect a little intrusion in his dream-team. His boss, played by Fred Willard, decides to add some diversity and hires a new reporter, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) which, as her name clearly indicates, is a woman. The blasphemy! The tragedy!
That the team is baffled by her entrance is a gag by itself, and a source of great ones, although the film is set in the 70's, it's strange to see it populated by guys who still believe men should drag their women by the hair. You think I'm exaggerating? Just watch the scene where Ron is courting the beautiful Veronica and just think whether a caveman wouldn't have come up with a better rhapsody. Still, it works by making Ron grotesquely touching. "The Legend of Ron Burgundy" is a film that, on the surface, looks very misogynistic and mean-spirited but even the most hardcore feminism can't overlook the fact that the film makes fun of these men's misogyny more than anything, and actually, it is what drives the whole narrative of the film, it's all in the conflict between Veronica and Ron.
But the film doesn't go for simplistic and predictable plot devices, the first pleasant surprise is that Burgundy actually puts the Ron in Veronica, they fall in love and she asks him to keep their relationship private. Guess what he does next? He screams it all over the office, and as if it wasn't enough, he shares the secret with his viewers. After all, isn't San Diego's voice of truth entitled to speak the truth? So if Ron says that he loves Veronica and she's got a nice rack, well, within his own wicked and macho sense of humor, it's still true. That's the secret of great comedic characters, they're consistent yet unpredictable, and on that level, Burgundy reminds me of Borat, another great mustached comical character of the 2000's.
I also mention Borat because he comes from a mockumentary and you get similar vibes from the film, with all these weird reports on pet contests and other local news items so trivial you wonder why they were taken so seriously. Well, the content might make you laugh, but it is true that these people, as eccentric as they were, existed and they were as passionate and loving their jobs as Burgundy. And Burgundy, through his childish insistence on keeping things under control, is like Tim Burton's "Ed Wood", the worst director ever, but a great guy who loved his job more than anything, and had fun doing it, and that's the key of Burgundy's likability, and Ferrell's performance.
Indeed, when an actor has fun playing a character, it shows on the screen, and you can tell the whole cast had fun, even the guys who played Burgundy's archenemies obviously, those who are below on Nielsen ratings, and perhaps the highest ratios of cameos per minute, one that makes the early 2000's almost as old as the 70's. I must say I cringed a little when the arena fight went over the top, I wasn't sure the film followed the right path, but then it had the perfect punch-line, with the great "Wow, that escalated quickly", which became a meme to describe a situation going ridiculously out of control. When a so-so scene ends with the most memorable line, it becomes a great scene.
And the movie is full of many many others, and many touching ones, too. It was directed by Adam McKay, who just won an Oscar for his dense and entertaining "Big Short" screenplay, a mix of comedy and drama to explain the financial crisis. In "Burgundy", retrospectively, you have hints of his promising talent in the way he tackles the reality of journalism world with a comedic tone, for once that the caricature doesn't serve to hide some ugly truth. And when the present is so ugly and scary, news-wise, an outdated weirdo like Ron Burgundy is a pure delight.