Will Be one of those Videos You Watch Repeatedly

Rating: 9/10 (28 July 2005)

Anchorman has a funny effect on me. I remember laughing out loud through nearly the whole film when I first saw it, and yet I still chuckle, to myself, at the now familiar jokes and setups. Like (the Holy Grail of American comedy) "Caddyshack" before it, Anchorman will live on in repeated lines for years to come. I don't pretend it's writing is more brilliant than "Caddyshack", it isn't. It's over the top where Caddyshack is underplayed to perfection, but the two stand as staggering cinematic moments in comedy. I've heard the outtakes are as funny as the finished film, and that most of the movie was just the lead actor's riffing, but I have to hand it Adam McKay for directing a mostly "riffed" film into a brilliant little piece. Of course, I love Will Ferrel's bluster (especially the outtake clips where he overreacts with so many "Great - something's something").
Still, the supporting cast is spot on, the performances always over-the-top and yet never over-the-line. Anchorman walks the tightrope and maintains a crazy energy the whole way through. It's also a very democratic film, every character receives a large share of the laughs. I struggle to think of characters on screen who are not being funny or adding to a joke. Accept the film for the big, ridiculous thing that it is and laugh your pants off.
Also, the moment Roger Ebert criticized as out-of-sync, the "Brawl", is just too funny on its own not to be there. Honestly, the last time you watched "Caddyshack", you knew the Yacht Club scene was a little un-subtle, but you still chuckle at the filmmakers disregard for maintaining tone. It's touches like that that keep these frenetic films alive for years to come. In ten years, you'll ask your friends what they could have been thinking shooting this scene, but you'll laugh just as hard knowing that they actually did shoot it and put it out there.