Reviews of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

"Stay classy, San Diego"

Posted : 5 months, 1 week ago on 9 May 2008 06:01 (A review of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)

"You're so wise. You're like a miniature Buddha, covered in hair."

First of all, let me make something extremely clear: Anchorman is a film made strictly for those who are looking only for a myriad of non-stop laughs. I have watched this movie repeatedly and the gags never get old. I have quoted this film frequently with friends, and still the laughs always seem fresh.

Anchorman is the tale of a much-respected, top-rated 1970's news anchorman named Ron Burgundy (Ferrell). Every night thousands of people get home in time to watch Ron and his Channel 4 news team give them the news. But when feminism strides into the newsroom in the form of Veronica Corningstone (Applegate), Ron and his three loyal followers (Champ Kind played by Koechner; Brick Tamland played by Carell; and Brian Fantana played by Rudd) do not approve (except for Brick his disapproval is more by default). At first Veronica agrees to report in the field on the more "female" stories like cat fashion parades. However when Veronica decides that she's had enough of being eye candy and desires to take a job behind a news desk...trouble ensues.

From start to finish, Anchorman is one hilarious adventure that is overflowing with so many memorable quotes! I would not be alone in giving this film the title of "most quotable movie ever made". Granted some of the jokes are a bit crude, and there's also lots of sexual humour that may be offensive...despite this there can be no denying that they're always funny regardless of the content.

The principal protagonists are an ideal bunch of great comedians. Ferrell in particular shines with his own unique style of humour. Ever since this film, Ferrell has pretty much been type-cast as one who overacts. Not that I'm complaining because I can't get enough of the man's highly amusing mannerisms. Ferrell was by far the most energetic addition to the cast. It's almost impossible not to laugh at him. Rudd, Koechner and Carell are outstanding as Ferrell's news team. Each of the actors has their own unique character to add to the film. They are all truly outstanding.

But I believe the aspect that makes this film so great is the high amount of chemistry between everyone on the cast. While watching the film I found it very obvious that all the actors were close friends and they all had a clear image in their head about the kind of movie they were creating. The palpable camaraderie made this film so much more enjoyable. It is also very evident that the cast were all granted the opportunity to improvise a lot of their lines. Ferrell in particular would have done a lot of improvising because some of his lines...can just be quoted repeatedly without getting old. His quotes are random and spontaneous. You cannot replicate lines this perfect while writing a screenplay. This obvious improvisation is also solidified by the side-splitting outtakes played during the closing credits.

It almost goes without saying that this film received stellar direction from Adam McKay; a man who seems to understand this form of humour. The director is also great friends with a significant number of the cast members. He must have placed great trust in his actors when they were allowed to improvise lines. Watch out for cameos from many famous actors like Vince Vaughn, Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller and Jack Black.

Overall, Anchorman is a film that doesn't deserve some of the negativity is received. I suggest you watch it with an open mind, and take it for what it is: a hilarious, strangely moving comedy that was never meant to be Oscar material. This is the perfected art of being silly. You will be reciting quotes from this film until the day you die. Be sure to watch through the end credits. Followed by a sequel made up of deleted scenes and extra material.

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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy review

Posted : 1 year, 1 month ago on 26 August 2007 09:19 (A review of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)

I think, for me, what makes this movie is Will Ferrell. Don't get me wrong, everyone else was great in their own quirky way but if it wasn't for Ferrell I don't believe I would've laughed as much or even given this movie a rating of 8 (or watched it the whole way through). It wasn't the funniest movie I have seen and probably bordering on sheer stupidity that's not funny rather then silliness, but there were times when I laughed so much that I couldn't help but enjoy it.

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PoonanyThoughts

Posted : 1 year, 1 month ago on 23 August 2007 11:30 (A review of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is about an all-male news team whose close-knit camaraderie is infiltrated by a gasp! woman .This could easily turn into one of those quotable cult comedies that grows on you the more you watch it. If only it wouldn't try so damn hard to be funny some of the time.
Even though it feels the need to lapse into juvenile clowning around every once in awhile, Anchorman is still gonna make you laugh--hard.

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