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| Egos clash as Ron Burgundy, a chauvinistic top-rated 1970s anchorman, is told that he'll be working with a new partner... a beautiful, but brutally ambitious, young newswoman.
British audiences are finally waking up to the fact that Will Ferrell is one of the funniest men alive. He’s been a star in the States for going on ten years now, thanks largely to his role on cult TV sketch show Saturday Night Live. But we had to wait for his movie career to kick off before we got a taste of that crazy Ferrell magic for ourselves. Here’s a guy who steals every film he’s in, no matter the size of his part, from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back to Zoolander and Old School, though it was his first starring role, in Elf, that really made his name in the UK.
And Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is ten times funnier than that, a smart and silly tale of men being men in the days before equal rights spoiled everything for them forever. Ferrell plays number one San Diego anchorman (American for newsreader) Ron Burgundy, a man of deep, deep shallows with perfect hair and a stone age attitude to women that’s perfectly in keeping with the male dominated, Seventies setting.
Then along comes stunning wannabe anchorlady Veronica Corningstone (Married… With Children’s Christina Applegate) and the sparks begin to fly. Bolstered by an awesome supporting cast and a hoard of all-star cameos – Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins, Vince Vaughan, Luke Wilson and Jack Black among them – Anchorman is comedy gold.
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Here's what our members thought of this title. 5 stars = very good, 1 star = poor.
 |  | They bring you the news so you don't have to get it yourself.
British audiences are finally waking up to the fact that Will Ferrell is one of the funniest men alive. He’s been a star in the States for going on ten years now, thanks largely to his role on cult TV sketch show Saturday Night Live. But we had to wait for his movie career to kick off before we got a taste of that crazy Ferrell magic for ourselves. Here’s a guy who steals every film he’s in, no matter the size of his part. He was the perv in Starsky and Hutch. The hapless ranger in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The camp-as-Christmas bad guy in Zoolander and the drunken, stripping idiot-man in Old School. Despite these memorable appearances, it took his first leading role, as an over-sized Elf, to finally make him a name in the UK. And good as that was, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is ten times funnier, a smart and silly tale of men being men in the days before equal rights spoiled everything for them forever.
"There was a time before cable," intones the narrator, "a time when people believed everything they heard on TV. This was an age when only men were allowed to read the news. It was an age when the local anchorman reigned supreme. In San Diego one man was more man then the rest. His name was Ron Burgundy. He was like a God walking amongst mere mortals. He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo…"
Ferrell is in his element as Burgundy, a man of deep, deep shallows with perfect hair and a Stone Age attitude to women that’s perfectly in keeping with the male dominated, Seventies setting. There’s not a moment on screen when Ferrell is anything less than completely hilarious. Just one look from him is enough to set audiences off. There’s something about the way he moves, something in his eyes, something in the tone of his voice that makes everything he does, no matter how small, seem like the funniest thing you’ve ever seen.
Not that Ferrell is alone in this laugh-inducing endeavour. Many of his co-stars are almost as funny, which is really saying something. Surrounding Ron is a trio of sidekicks, each more twisted than the last: Texan sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner), a bigmouth whose volume is stuck on 11; sleazy reporter Brian Fontana (Paul Rudd), a man of unlimited aftershaves ("It’s called Sex Panther. It’s illegal in nine countries. It’s made from little pieces of real panther, so you know it’s good…"); and backward weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), a man so dumb he’d need a promotion to rise to the level of moron ("Years later, a doctor will tell me I have an I.Q. of 48 and that I am considered mentally retarded.").
Together, they’re the number one news team in San Diego, and their rivals – Vince Vaughan, Tim Robbins and Luke Wilson among them – are not above trying to kill them. "I stabbed a man in the heart," says Brick with pride after a rumble with some local troublemakers. "I saw that!" adds Ron. "Brick killed a guy! Did you throw a trident?" "Yeah," replies Brick. "There were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident!"
Then there’s Christina Applegate, the gorgeous, talented star of hit sitcom Married… With Children, a funny, talented actress who holds her own, despite the competition, as stunning wannabe anchorlady Veronica Corningstone. Ron doesn’t know what to make of her. He’s threatened and attracted all at once. And the two play their relationship perfectly, from mushy romance to extreme violence and everything in between.
Could this be the silliest movie ever made? All signs point to yes. Wacky and inventive with a perfect cast, all this movie wants to do is entertain. To make us laugh until we cry and our sides feel set to split. The good news is it succeeds, and then some. Anchorman is comedy gold.
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