Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Plot synopsis:
In the mid 1970's, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is the famous and successful anchorman for San Diego's KVWN-TV Channel 4 Evening News. He works alongside his friends on the news team: fashion-oriented lead field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), sportscaster Champion "Champ" Kind (David Koechner), and a "legally retarded" chief meteorologist Brick Tamland (Steve Carell). The team is notified by their boss, Ed Harken (Fred Willard), that their station has maintained its long-held status as the highest-rated news program in San Diego, leading them to throw a wild party. Ron sees an attractive blond woman and immediately tries to hit on her. After an awkward, failed pick-up attempt, the woman leaves.The next day, Ed informs the team that he has been forced by the network to hire Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), a female news reporter from Asheville, North Carolina and the same woman Ron had tried to pick up the night before. The news team attempts to seduce Veronica using various inept, arrogant and sexist methods, all of which backfire. Ron ends up asking her out under the guise of helping out a new co-worker, which she accepts. During their date, Ron woos Veronica by playing jazz flute in his friend Tino's (Fred Armisen) club. Veronica goes against her policy of not dating co-workers and sleeps with Ron. The next day, despite agreeing with Veronica to keep the relationship discreet, Ron tells the entire news room that he and Veronica are in a sexual relationship (and later announces it on the air).The next day when Ron is on his way to the station, he throws a burrito out his car window, accidentally hitting a motorcyclist (Jack Black) in the head, causing him to crash. In a fit of rage, the biker retaliates by punting Ron's dog, Baxter, off a bridge. A distressed and incoherent Ron calls Brian from a pay phone and tells him what happened. Since Ron is now late, Brian frantically tells him to come to the station because Veronica is about to take his place. Despite Ron's efforts to arrive on time, Veronica goes on air. After Ron arrives, he has an argument with Veronica about the situation and they break up. The next day, Veronica is made co-anchor, much to the entire news team's disgust. The co-anchors soon become fierce rivals and argue with each other both on and off the air.One day while feeling down on themselves, the News team decides to buy new suits. However on the way to the suit shop Brick, who was leading the way, gets them lost ending up in a shady part of town. They are then confronted by Wes Mantooth (Vince Vaughn) and the evening news team. Tired of their rudeness and petty anger, Ron challenges them to a fight. All armed with crude weapons the two teams are about to fight when they are joined by Channel 2 news team with lead anchor Frank Vitchard (Luke Wilson), the public news team and their lead anchor (Tim Robbins), and the Spanish language news with lead anchor Arturo Mendez (Ben Stiller). A full on melee ensues between the five teams until they all flee when police sirens are heard. When they return to the studio, Ron gets in another heated argument with Veronica and they get in a physical fight after she insults his hair, increasing tensions even more.While in a restaurant celebrating Veronica's success, one of Veronica's co-workers tells her that Ron will read anything that is written on the teleprompter. Later, Veronica sneaks into the station and changes the words in Ron's teleprompter. The next day, instead of Ron saying his signature "You stay classy, San Diego!" closure, Ron ends the broadcast with, "Go f*** yourself, San Diego." Everyone in the studio, except Ron, is speechless. An angry mob gathers outside the studio and Ed is forced to fire Ron. Garth is especially hurt and sobs while labeling Ron "a poopmouth". Veronica sees that she has gone too far and attempts to apologize, but Ron angrily dismisses her while being led through the mob by security, yelling at her that she had "reduced him to rubble".Three months later, Ron is unemployed, friendless, hated by the city, and is a slovenly drunk. In this time, Veronica has become very famous, but is hated by her male coworkers for sabotaging Ron; Ed told Champ, Brick, and Brian not to talk to Ron or he will fire them if they do. When it is announced that Ling-Wong the panda is about to give birth, all San Diego news teams head to the zoo to cover the story. In an attempt to sabotage her, the public news anchor pushes Veronica into a Kodiak bear enclosure. When Ed cannot find Veronica, he calls the bar where Ron spends most of his time and reluctantly asks him to return. Ron then summons the rest of his team by blowing the "News Horn", despite the fact that they were all standing a foot away playing pool. Baxter, who has miraculously survived, hears this call and follows the voice to find Ron. Once at the zoo, Ron jumps into the bear pen to save Veronica, with everyone else at the zoo watching. The Channel 4 news team then jumps in to help Ron. Just as the leader of the bears is about to rip Ron and Veronica apart, Baxter shows up and convinces the bear to let them live by mentioning that he is a friend of the bear's cousin, Katow-jo, whom he met in the wild.After Ron and Veronica reconcile, it is shown that in years to come, Brian becomes the host of a Fox reality show named Intercourse Island, Brick is George W. Bush's top political adviser, Champ is a commentator for the NFL before he was fired for sexually harassing Terry Bradshaw, and Ron and Veronica are co-anchors for the CNN-esque World News Center, taking over after the narrator retires and it is shown to be some time later as Ron and Veronica are shown wearing 80's fashions.

Tags: comedy, stupid, cult, humor, satire, entertaining

Review:
Result confirmed.Anchorman tells a simple story: acclaimed (and consequently arrogant) news anchor Ron Burgundy is forced to adapt when an attractive new female member of the Channel 4 news team (Applegate) begins changing the way he and his quirky news team work.
In a year packed with comedies that were all a bit stupid and silly (and all seemed to feature Ben Stiller), Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy reigns supreme above them all.
Most of the time a comedy like this will use up all the laughs in the first hour and then try to take a serious, lovey-dovey turn in the last act.
Will Ferrel of course, the star of the movie who is just perfect as Ron. He's so so funny 'cause he's such a lovable idiot.
And that's exactly what director Adam McKay (also co-writer with star Will Ferrell) provides in "Anchorman." A very warm summer day, like today, was perfect for the quick gags and physical comedy of this nutty flick.
Even Jack Black makes it into the flick as a dedicated junkie.Don't miss the outtakes as the end credits role, especially Ferrell's last comment on what the movie really is.Pure summer fun-laugh, be happy.8/10.
"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" takes us back to those halcyon days of the 1970's, when the hair was as big as the lapels and women were just beginning to assume their rightful place in America's television newsrooms.Will Ferrell plays a Ted Baxter-type anchorman (is it mere coincidence that his dog is named Baxter?) - vain, narcissistic, none too gifted in the brains department - who has worked for years as the sole news dispenser at a top-rated San Diego station.
Things really get dicey when Burgundy and Cornerstone begin dating and quickly fall in love, a situation rife with potential disaster as Cornerstone begins to encroach on Burgundy's professional territory."Anchorman" is a light-hearted, enjoyable little comedy that, unlike a full-throated satire (say, like "Network"), often goes for the easy laugh instead of the incisive barb.
The movie is at its best when it is parodying the corny graphics and the tendency to over hype the trivial ("Panda Watch: Day 46") that define modern newscasts - and at its worst when it is indulging in silly, often scatological jokes and slapstick throw away bits.
Like most mainstream comedies, the humor in "Anchorman" ranges from the mildly funny to the downright hilarious, the latter including a clever "West Side Story" parody involving a rumble between rival news teams, and a conversation between a dog and a bear that ends the movie on a ludicrous but knee-slapping high note.Ferrell (who co-wrote the film) is his usual manic self, unctuous but likable, and Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, and Fred Willard do fine work in supporting roles.
Moreover, writer/director Adam McKay provides a smattering of guest appearances from such well known stars as Jack Black, Luke Wilson, Tim Robbins, Vince Vaughn, Jerry Stiller and even Ben Stiller, many of who are not listed in the official credits."Anchorman" goes down easily - a bit too easily, perhaps, for a film that, with a little more courage, might have become a scathing satire on an industry that could do with a little merciless skewering right about now.
I had been avoiding myself from watching 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' for a long time because I thought that it would be another one of those wannabe non-funny comedies.
Anyway, I later found out that the cast also included Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd and Steve Carell and so I was curious to how Ferrell works with these talented comedy actors.So that's that and now, after having seen it, I must add that 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' is a laugh riot.
There are also notable cameos by a psychopathic Tim Robbins, a Hispanic Ben Stiller, an armless Luke Wilson and Jack Black as a cruel junkie.I'd recommend to watch the movie with English subtitles as there are some hilarious lines between Burgundy's dog and a bear which is spoken in animal language.
The scene where he plays the flute to impress Veronica, Veronica screaming 'Ron!' (in typical 70's melodramatic style) when he gets fired, the entire bear awakening sequence, the battle between the anchormen, Veronica challenging Ed with her three strengths: screwing, fighting and news-reading ....there's just too many.While being an out-and-out comedy, it does bring forth some serious issues like gender equality (which was still a problem in the 70s).
In essence, the key to this stuff is never letting off of the goofiness even for a second--the audience should never be allowed to take anything seriously."Anchorman" achieves this with exceedingly silly and bizarre dialogue complemented by killer comic performances from Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Vince Vaughn and Steve Carrel.
So you know it's good." and "I'm riding a big, furry tractor!" The direction and pacing are also pretty solid at times, and the requisite celeb cameos are very nicely done (especially in one particular scene which I wouldn't dream of ruining).The film's not without its flaws, certainly.
Also, I think that the story would have benefited if Vaughn and his cronies, the closest thing to villains in this lightheaded romp, had a little more face time.But these are comparatively minor problems--the point is that Ferrel has given us something that's really funny in a way that's appreciably different from the endless SNL movie-mill.
Will Ferrell's over-the-top performance, along with other cast members equally daring acts, makes you wonder how much of the movie was scripted, and how much was ad-lib.
I am not a fan of all of Ferrell's movies (especially Kicking and Screaming), but this one will be near the top of my list for years to come, I'm sure.Because, as we all know, 'Sixty percent of the time, it works every time!'.
I laughed the entire way through this movie, so much that I had to see it a second time to catch all of the jokes.
You will laugh so hard you will get that feeling that you cannot breath.The movie features comedy all stars like Will Ferrel, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Coechner who team up together and make a perfect comedy team in this classic comedy..
*** 1/2Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd.Famous anchorman Ron Burgundy is on top of the world.
I'm not sure if Ron Burgundy is a character from SNL that was brought to the big screen, but it certainly has that flavor to it.Well, many of the reasons that I totally detested this movie fall in line with many of the reasons that I stopped watching SNL decades ago.
So, if you think that the previews of this movie were hilarious, you will probably enjoy the movie - the previews capture the soul of the movie pretty well, without showing you all the things you would think are "funny stuff".However, if you aren't sure whether you will like this movie based upon what you see in the previews, you should stay away - this movie gets very tiring and predictable fast.My rating: 1 (...
I've heard a lot about "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy." After all, it made Will Ferrell famous to movie audiences.
Everything seems to be perfect for Ron, until a new reporter, a beautiful female(!) named Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) threatens his seat of power.I've seen a few of Will Ferrell's movies, and I have to admit that I am not a fan.
Ferrell's humor reminds me of the old sports adage "You can't win by just throwing your jockstrap out on the field (or floor), you must actually play the game." Ferrell walks into a scene and looks or says something stupid and we're expected to laugh?
I want to sue the film company for the eight bucks I shelled out and the twenty minutes i wasted watching this purile snot before i lurched out of the rancid stupor this movie inspired, hurled a brick at the TV and put myself out of my misery.
My friend I was with didn't like it at all, but when it came on DVD she watched it again and its now our favorite funny movie.
Shrouded in a very thin plot, it was nothing more that a staccato string of inane jokes and the sure sign of a crappy movie, a number of surprise cameos.This stunk of one of those "alum" films where a bunch of actors (and I do use that term loosely here) get together, fill out roster spots and ham it up for the camera.
And the reason that you saw a "star" of Christina Applegate's stature in this movie is obviously because no other actress with a shred of dignity would have accepted this script.I laughed out loud one time during this film, and oddly enough, I was the only one.
I've lost the will to live after watching just several minutes of this excrement while I write this....unfortunately, you need to keep writing about how bad this movie is while listening to him sing Afternoon Delight and get lectured with some real insight, and he says something stupid in return.
I felt as if someone had grouped the "class clowns" from high school and asked them to star in an improv home-movie.My zero-star rating comes down to this: predictable jokes; uninteresting, pointless plot; horrible (over-)acting; waste of time and money..
His dog, ****__Baxter__****, is the most intelligent character in the film and, IMO, steals the show.Burgundy is struggling to save his career as he is confronted with an only slightly more intelligent stereotype of a 1970s career-woman (complete with the usual inaccurate stereotype female dilemma which people of today's generation seem to believe to be characteristic of the period - she has to decide between an uncontrollable sexual attraction and her certain knowledge that the guy she's attracted to is an imbecile and a cad who wants to ruin her career almost as much as he wants to slither into her undergarments).
It's the 70s and Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is the quintessential television anchorman for a San Diego television station, but his world is turned upside down when an ambitious female reporter (Christina Applegate) infiltrates his territory when she tries to become the network's first female anchorperson.
The plot sounds really funny and I was really looking forward to watching this film since Will Ferrell is in it.
Unsophisticated, low comedy, and dumb, with a really good cast - Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, Vince Vaughan, Fred Willard -- but they were all let down by a really rotten script.There were a couple of funny things - my favorite was everyone singing Afternoon Delight in harmony.
Fundamentally, Will Ferrell is not a funny person and just about all his films have the same story line jammed pack with banal unfunny script and the same character - himself.
If Fox News was like This I Would Watch It. Halloween came and went and I was Ron Burgundy, and then I realized I haven't reviewed one of the funniest movies ever made, Anchorman.
Anchorman (2004) Will Ferrell is joined by an eclectic cast of comedic fools that include Steve Carell, Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller in this satirical film about an all male news team who are slowly corrupted by something they cannot bare; a woman in their newsteam.Ferrell is always funny with his over the top outrageous performances and this is no different.Anchorman possesses some scenes that are guaranteed to ignite a laughing spree.If you are a fan of Will Ferrell this should be the perfect film for you; if you are just a person who likes over the top, (slightly) silly comedies this should be fitting."Spectacularly intense comedy extravaganza" "Hilarious...
"Anchorman" does not even fall into that dubious category.***Spoilers*** It's my firm belief that no one who sees more than one movie every five years could possibly have found the rumble scene -- with A-list actors making cameos -- the slightest bit funny.
Even the cameo appearances of respected actors like Tim Robbins or Ben Stiller cannot change what this movie really is: a dumb waste of time and a surprising lack of funny moments for a comedy.The idea is that Ron Burgandy (Will Ferell), an ego-maniac who thinks he is a gift to all women, gets competition as the anchorman of a San Diego local news station.
Once Going, I Loved It. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy directed by Adam McKay Uproar erupts when Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) must share the news room with a woman anchor.Like many comedies, Anchorman does have a slow start, but as it goes on, the jokes don't stop.
So many moments felt like they were taken right off an Elementary School playground; the scene where Christina Applegate tells Ron Burgundy that he has bad hair is a perfect example.
Every joke is completely stupid and you'll see them coming three kilometers away, this movie will make even the biggest morons feel like geniuses(in which case rating is understandable).
Had the acting been over-the top (like Ben Stiller in everything lately) the movie could have been funny.
This movie is pathetic.every drama i've ever seen is funnier than this "alleged"" comedy.even the anti piracy warning before the movie,is funnier.i'd give an overview of the plot,but it's just too painful.right after the movie,i booked myself for a sinus scraping,followed directly after by a 4 day insurance seminar.i had an ear to ear grin through both the scraping and the insurance seminar.they were both much more entertaining than Anchorman.i know some people thought this movie was funny,but i can't help but wonder if they were either paid,or were somehow involved with the making of the movie.there's no other rational explanation.i didn't find the movie offensive in any way,it was just horribly,depressingly boring.maybe if i had gouged out my eyeballs while watching it,i would have been more entertained.if you like your comedies with no comedy involved,this one's for you.otherwise,try Harold and Kumar go to White Castle,or Repli-Kate, two insanely hysterical comedies.there is no rating low enough for this dreck..
I usually love Will Ferrell (i.e. Old School), but he was just so stupid in this movie.
He knows the character of Ron Burgundy like the back of his hand and you believe every second of his performance even during the scenes where you are finding some sub plots to be a little far fetched (but that just adds to the outrageous hilarious nature the film is going for.) Christina Applegate is a standout too, She isn't just reciting the script while trying to seem convincing (much like her character could have turned out had she been in the wrong hands) she brings heart, integrity and a hell of a lot of hilarity to her performance.
As I watched this very pointless, unfunny movie, my mouth was hanging open over how little Ferrell and I agree on what is funny.
ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (2004) **** Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, Fred Armisen, Seth Rogen, Danny Trejo (Cameos: Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins) Ferrell plumbs new depths in braggadocio inanity as the titular '70s San Diego news reader whose vainglorious, male chauvinistic journalistic ways are about to come to a nasty head when sexy FEMALE anchor wanna be Veronica Corningstone (a game Applegate) is hired placing him and his news team – ladies'man roving reporter Brian Fantana (Rudd channeling Kurt Russell); mentally challenged weatherman Brick (as in thick as a) Tamland (Carell, stealing the entire film); and good ol' boy sports reporter Champ Kind (wily Koechner) – in a battle of the sexes with truly hilarious results.
The absurdity reaches new highs (or lows; depends on how you look at it) with the God-UGLY clothing and hirsute stylings of the ME decade in all its tacky splendor and inspired cameos of some of film's funniest comedians but it clearly shows Ferrell – who co-wrote with director Adam McKay - at the top of his game in making dumb guys an art form with his ridiculous self-important cluelessness and aggressively idiotic displays of ardor and emotion (one of the best lines: "I'm in a glass case of emotion!") Howlingly funny – sort of the 'Boogie Nights' of local news meets 'Austin Powers'.
I saw this movie thinking it was going to be laugh out loud funny.
I took the advice of an IMDb user who recommended sitting through the closing credits of "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." Unfortunately, the outtakes running through the credits were not funny, and neither was this film.I realize that Will Ferrell is a popular television personality and comedian.
It wastes cameo appearances by a half dozen of Hollywoods best and would get a mere 1 star rating if it wasn't for Jack Black's 30 second scene.I love every kind of humor from 3 Stooges to Bob Newhart, from Benny Hill to Jerry Seinfeld, from Mel Brooks to Steven Wright, but struggled to the very end to find a laugh in this improvised, meandering pap.On a comedy scale, I put Anchorman right up there with Cancer jokes and Hee Haw..
"In a time when Ugly people were allowed to be on TV" top local anchorman Ron Burgundy(Ferrell) and his news team Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) Champ Kind (David Koechner) and Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) are challenged by the emergence of a female newsreader, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) joining the team, jostling with Ron for the lead anchor chair in the newsroom.With cameo appearances from an all star cast including Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins, Vince Vaughn, Jack Black amongst others.
I don't think Hollywood could write a funny movie like they used to anymore.
In my opinion this film is as close as I've seen to perfectly cast, I cannot think of any actor that could be replaced.Overall I would describe Anchorman as one of the best movie experiences I have personally had, and it is undoubtedly a must-see..