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 Chris' Review: I don't get it. Why do people find Will Ferrell funny? Those of you that enjoyed "Old School" or "Elf" may completely disagree with my assessment of this film. That's fine, I can accept that. I just wish I didn't feel like the new kid in the group who doesn't get all the inside jokes... because I just don't find this man funny. I went into this movie with high expectations, and maybe that's why I didn't really enjoy it. I had heard from friends and reviewers that this movie was hilarious. I went in hoping to laugh my fool ass off. Sure, I laughed. I laughed hard in a couple sections. I've heard that the movie satirizes much of what used to go on in the newsrooms 30 years ago (apparently some of it still goes on) but I've never been involved in that and I didn't get most of the jokes, I'm sure. Couple that with my apparent inability to be entertained by Mr. Ferrell, and the movie came off as an inconsistent dud. Christina Applegate makes a welcome appearance, but never really seems comfortable with the part. She constantly seems uncomfortable with the slap-stick style of the movie. It's almost as if someone told her they were making a historical representation of the trials the first female anchor had to endure... then after she had signed all the paperwork told her that it was going to be a Will Ferrell comedy. I can hear her now, "Oh, sure... here I think someone is finally going to give me my "Erin Brockovich", that I'm finally being taken as a serious actress... now I have to put up with dick and fart jokes." I'd say something about Will Ferrells performance, but, as I said before, I just don't get it. So I'm going to assume that my critique of his performance would be just as off and skip it altogether. My favorite part of the film was definitely Brick Tamland, played brilliantly by Steve Carell. If there is a good reason to see this movie, it's his performance. Like an even dryer but more talkative version of Mr.Bean, every line that comes out of his mouth is delivered with genius. Will Ferrell may have written the lines, but Steve Carell owned them. Tons of cameos from other members of the "Slack Pack". Jack Black kicks a poor doggie off a bridge. I actually read somewhere that scene angered some people. WHY? It's a CG dog, people! I thought it was hilarious! Oh, and the fight scene, where all the networks (and all the members of the "Slack Pack") get down to a chains and spiked boards street fight... that was also split-your-sides funny. Unfortunately, the movie really lacked a serious plot... heck, I would have settled for a hole-riddled one. With a full plot the movie would have moved along smoother, instead, it felt like a series of SNL skits filmed with the same theme in mind. Overall I give "Anchorman" 1 thumb up. It had it's moments, it was worth my dollar and it's a good way to kill an hour and a half. I'm glad I didn't see it opening night and pay $8 though, and I'm certainly not going to add it to my collection.   Jim's Review: Newscasters are ripe targets for spoof and satire. Their sculpted coiffures, somber demeanor, and robotic delivery invite easy mockery. They're just "Talking Heads", after all...Who'd take offense? "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" purports to paint a big ol' bulls-eye on the image of the dripping-with-austerity (but light in the brainpan) desk-jockey stereotype. Does it hit the mark? Uh...Kinda. Sometimes. San Diego's "News Team 4" Anchorman Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is a cheesy, über-macho, pickup-line spouting cornball. He's egotistical. He's overblown. And he has no idea. He and his station buddies live in a carefree '70's-era haze of parties, booze, fawning bimbos, and high ratings. They see society at large as a MAN'S world, and the microcosm of the newsroom is just one more extension of that. The more they preen and posture, the more they look into the camera with ersatz sincerity, the more they fit the image that their town has come to expect. They bring the news, the news brings the audience, and the ratings soar. But of course...All "good" things must come to an end. The News Team's scotch-and-cigarettes universe begins to crack and peel with the arrival of Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), a beautiful, ambitious (*Gasp!*) FEMALE reporter from out-of-state. She descends upon their wee treehouse as the picture of professionalism, determined to carve out her niche in the testosterone-fueled environs of the station. Naturally, this being a bygone era, sexual harassment is alive and well...So the arrested-development boys' club (seemingly stuck at the same adolescent stage as the boys who cope with their burgeoning attraction to girls by chasing them with frogs) can't decide whether to kill her, or try to seduce her. Overall, their techniques for either appear remarkably similar. Their fumbling, offensive attempts to bed the new interloper would end in lawsuits today, but given the zeitgeist, Veronica is left to her own devices to deal with their awkward advances. Of course, it's not just the unwanted "romantic" attention she has to deal with...Station director Ed Harken (Fred Willard) not only cluelessly calls her "sweetheart" and "honey", but begins immediately doling out puff pieces to the new little cub, even as she yearns for hard news. So she's stuck covering cat shows and quilting bees...until, against all the odds, Veronica gets her chance to ANCHOR one fateful day when Burgundy is held up from arriving for the evening's news in a timely fashion. Once she gets the nod to pinch-hit, and slams it out of the park to boot, all competitive hell breaks loose. Outside of that...The narrative gets spotty, and things start to fall apart a little bit. Plot threads are lost, picked up, and lost again. Some stretches are coherent and funny, but others languish badly and slowly trail off to die. Satire butts up roughly against absurdist slapstick, and chafes. In fact, it's not exactly clear just what the hell happened to the film as a whole until the credits roll...and outtakes of wide-ranging gag-reel ad-libbing make it abundantly obvious that the screenplay seems to have very likely consisted of little more than a directional outline. And as it turns out, "Anchorman" suffers for this lack of structure more often than it shines for it. However, that's not so say that it doesn't have its moments. Ferrell and company are clearly enjoying themselves, and their commitment, enthusiasm and eagerness to please do manage to come through. Bathroom / anatomy humor may be base, but it still manages to draw laughs. A ridiculous-but-funny "West Side Story"-style news team rumble may be horribly out-of-context, but it's rife with so much surreality and so many cameos that it almost becomes forgivable. And Steve Carell's brain-dead meteorologist Brick Tamblin manages to nimbly steal every frame he's in with a hilarious cavalcade of blank stares, malapropisms, and non-sequiturs. It's only a shame that the characters wander around within such an aimless layout. I'm giving "Anchorman" three thumbs up. There are genuine laughs, but it easily draws the same line of criticism fired at so many films featuring "Saturday Night Live" alumni: It works better as a series of funny vignettes than when taken at the supposed face value of a coherent film. BackHome - Info - Reviews - Map - Message Board - Photo Album |
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