Review: Anchorman
July 14, 2004; Regal Falmouth #1
* * (out of 4)
It is a bad sign when one member of a film’s supporting cast repeatedly outshines the lead actor. It makes me wonder if casting agents in Hollywood are looking in the wrong places for their moneymakers. That is the case with Anchorman. Will Ferrell is very good at playing one character, and it molds to Ron Burgundy well; however, Steve Carrell gets more laughs on each line than Ferrell gets through the entire movie. When the obvious intent of the film is to focus on Burgundy, that gets distracting.
Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) is the anchorman for a local news affiliate in San Diego in the 1970s. Beloved all over the city as ratings champ, he and the rest of his news team (Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner) are treated as royalty; it’s a good life. All this is thrown into jeopardy when the network appoints a woman (Christina Applegate) to the news team in order to encourage diversity. Burgundy must adjust his anti-feminist mindset and fight against the ambitious newcomer to keep his job, all the while trying to bed her at the same time.
There’s a point when a character speaking almost entirely in non-sequiturs gets aggravating, but Steve Carell doesn’t hit it here. Time and time again, his silliness is manifested as a one-liner, and his character his aware enough of his surroundings to make some of it fit, but it’s still crazy enough to be all sorts of fun throughout the movie.
What this does is take away from the actual plot of the movie – not that this is a huge issue… there’s not a lot of plot to be had. Will Ferrell is pretty much playing his usual immature moron, and he fits in well in this situation. I just think it might be time for Will to try something else. Beyond him, Applegate just looks lost, and the other two members of the news team spend most of the movie mugging, which is fun for awhile, but then the same jokes get a little old.
The most fun here are the cameos. It seems like Ferrell just invited all his friends down to the set one day; they had some beers, then used some film. Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Tim Robbins, Jack Black… it’s a long list, and the scene with all of them put together is all kinds of fun.
There’s just not much spacer in between the funny stuff from the rest of the cast. Ferrell doesn’t interest me, nor does the romance between him and Applegate. It’s unfortunate when the primary plot serves as filler, but that’s what it is here. Rent this to see some very funny people being very silly, but don’t expect it to hold your attention. It’s typical lowbrow comedy for the most part, and it’s time for Ferrell to challenge himself a bit more. Anchorman is nothing special or new.
July 14, 2004; Regal Falmouth #1
* * (out of 4)
It is a bad sign when one member of a film’s supporting cast repeatedly outshines the lead actor. It makes me wonder if casting agents in Hollywood are looking in the wrong places for their moneymakers. That is the case with Anchorman. Will Ferrell is very good at playing one character, and it molds to Ron Burgundy well; however, Steve Carrell gets more laughs on each line than Ferrell gets through the entire movie. When the obvious intent of the film is to focus on Burgundy, that gets distracting.
Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) is the anchorman for a local news affiliate in San Diego in the 1970s. Beloved all over the city as ratings champ, he and the rest of his news team (Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner) are treated as royalty; it’s a good life. All this is thrown into jeopardy when the network appoints a woman (Christina Applegate) to the news team in order to encourage diversity. Burgundy must adjust his anti-feminist mindset and fight against the ambitious newcomer to keep his job, all the while trying to bed her at the same time.
There’s a point when a character speaking almost entirely in non-sequiturs gets aggravating, but Steve Carell doesn’t hit it here. Time and time again, his silliness is manifested as a one-liner, and his character his aware enough of his surroundings to make some of it fit, but it’s still crazy enough to be all sorts of fun throughout the movie.
What this does is take away from the actual plot of the movie – not that this is a huge issue… there’s not a lot of plot to be had. Will Ferrell is pretty much playing his usual immature moron, and he fits in well in this situation. I just think it might be time for Will to try something else. Beyond him, Applegate just looks lost, and the other two members of the news team spend most of the movie mugging, which is fun for awhile, but then the same jokes get a little old.
The most fun here are the cameos. It seems like Ferrell just invited all his friends down to the set one day; they had some beers, then used some film. Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Tim Robbins, Jack Black… it’s a long list, and the scene with all of them put together is all kinds of fun.
There’s just not much spacer in between the funny stuff from the rest of the cast. Ferrell doesn’t interest me, nor does the romance between him and Applegate. It’s unfortunate when the primary plot serves as filler, but that’s what it is here. Rent this to see some very funny people being very silly, but don’t expect it to hold your attention. It’s typical lowbrow comedy for the most part, and it’s time for Ferrell to challenge himself a bit more. Anchorman is nothing special or new.
posted by Matt S. at
12:56 AM
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