Movie Review: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

During a majority of my high school years, a movie discussed continuously among my peers was Anchorman. Easily one of the most talked about comedies of all-time, Anchorman‘s plot is a new take on the newsroom, one many can get a laugh out of because we all at one point or another hated the media, right? A lot of things happen behind the camera that would make all of us question our own morality and ethics. The media has the capability to twist things sometimes to give the public a falser sense of the truth.

Thankfully, Anchorman isn’t looking at the darker ripples of news organizations. It’s giving us a more optimistic, humorous angle, one that you would expect from a light-hearted comedy. A solid cast with Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner compile a brotherhood within a news team and it’s not hard to slip into the seams and hang with these guys, do what they do, work hard during the day but not too hard, and party all night long. At the same time, you get the sense Burgundy (Ferrell), the head honcho, might be looking for something else in his life. He’s still hungry for life and who knows? Maybe he’s ready to settle down? Maybe I’m taking this film a little more seriously than it needs to be taken but everyone says this film is full of so much substance so I spent the majority of the film looking for that said substance. I’m not sure what they were talking about.

While the plot is a new take and idea, its plot devices linger longer than they’re needed. An overly cheesy romance between Burgundy and Christina Applegate’s Veronica Corningstone drags far more than it needs to and creates angst and aggravation after a while. The chemistry is there for a little but soon dissipates, not that it mattered all that much because the subplot is tossed to the wayside midway.

I think the real mishap is that director Adam McKay couldn’t decide how he wanted his film to resonate. The film has a firm platform to leap off of and the rise is a pleasure but the fall gravity enforces is too predictable and visually noticeable to pass off. When you watch a film and you can narrow down to the specific scene where this film started to head in the wrong direction, that’s a bad sign. They just left it tied with a thread and called it a day. McKay and Ferrell have worked together on many films, this the first coordinated effort they did but it’s just very blah for me. For the majority of its 95 minute run time, the tone is inconsistent and scattered like teenage hormones, flinching on the floor like a man tortured with back spasms. Only occasionally is the man able to stand up and do the routine we’ve paid to see before the hazards return to ruin the fun.

The film is full of cameos that in my mind took away from the characters we’re supposed to be engaging with and distracting us from what we should be paying attention to. Some cameos are funny and others are there for recognition purposes and those are the ones that should be taken out. This isn’t a fashion show where we parade anyone who’s ever said a funny line in their life through the front-and-center spotlight. This is a movie, a short movie at that, that felt long despite it being vertically challenged, partly because we’re engaged and then not engaged and then engaged again. It’s kinda like when you’re trying to have a conversation with a friend you haven’t seen in a long time at a loud and overcrowded party and people keep coming over to interrupt your conversation about stupid, unimportant things like, “Dude, Josh did a cannonball in the pool” or “Where’s the beer, dude?” or “Hey, when’s Billy getting here?” I’m trying to have a conversation and your constant distractions are pushing my buttons and ticking me off. McKay keeps sending friends to interrupt the conversation I’m trying to have with Burgundy and crew with meaningless cameos.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing of all is that while the title of the film holds Burgundy’s name, the best lines of the film are not going through him. Steve Carell is owning the spotlight as weatherman Brick Tamland and every line is to be taken seriously and also not seriously at the same time. I understand the last sentence makes zero sense but Brick would probably figure it out. He’s easily the best written character and I can only ponder as to what a film this might have been if Brick was our lead runner.

Once again, if you’re new to my blog,  I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.

 90-100  It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Jack Reacher, Godzilla, Secretariat)

80-89   It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile. (Tears of the Sun, Edge of Tomorrow, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Young Guns, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2)

70-79   It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too.(Maleficent, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Transporter 2, Battle: Los Angeles, Skyfall)

60-69   It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one. (The Transporter, Speed, Godzilla(1998), The Incredible Hulk, Disaster Movie)

50-59   This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this. (Vantage Point, The Starving Games, You’re Next, Thor, Full Metal Jacket)

40-49   This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this. (Billy Madison, A Haunted House, 300: Rise of an Empire, Cowboys and Aliens, Serendipity)

30-39   Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30′s ironically define the 1930′s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb. (Planet of the Apes, Stonados, Redemption, Pride and Prejudice, The Contract)

20-29   What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow. (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Thor: The Dark World, The Sum of All Fears)

0-19      Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE.” (Clash of the Titans, A Haunted House 2, Open Grave, Alien 3, Dark Fury)

My score for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: 63.

I honestly think the hype my peers heaped upon it ruined the experience for me. Ron Burgundy is one of the more memorable characters of the last decade but Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy doesn’t do the character justice nor any of his counterparts as this film could have been far more precise in its comedic timing and sturdy in its plot anchors. Notwithstanding, this film is still a cult classic that will be given far more credit than it deserves time and time again.