Back Shelf Beauties
by Willie Waffle
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Anchorman
Will Ferrell is bigger than God right now, so it's only natural that he satirize
another group of people who think they are bigger than God - television news
anchors and reporters. Anchorman has
very funny moments, and others that fall flat, but it's worth going to see
this weekend.
Ferrell stars as Ron Burgundy - the #1 news anchor for the #1 rated news
broadcast in 1970's San Diego. He's on top of the world, and loved by thousands,
but it's all about to change. The station has hired a new reporter, and she's
a woman! Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) is invading the boys
club, and the all-male news team doesn't like her, while Burgundy is falling
in love with the newcomer.
Can Corningstone cut it? Will the boys drive her away? Will Burgundy be able
to control himself?
Anchorman is equally hilarious, appalling
and intelligent, but couldn't the movie have a little more of the intelligent
and hilarious? Written by Ferrell and director Adam McKay,
Anchorman often comes off as a great
skewering of the subject including the portrayal of television newspeople
as big children, the battle of the sexes and Burgundy's self-centered life,
but Ferrell and McKay often revert to the easy joke, when something smarter
could have been better than the potty humor presented to the audience. Less
obvious jokes like the continuing troubles of news director Ed Harkin (Fred
Willard) and his son, or the wild, superfluous exclamations by Burgundy are
much funnier than the jokes about male genitalia (especially Willard, who
can deliver the funniest lines with a straight face, which makes it all the
funnier). In a way, Anchorman is funny
in spite of itself thanks to the cast.
Ferrell is a great comedic actor, and he's smart enough to surround himself
with a strong cast, while generously giving them a chance to get some laughs
along the way. He is at his best as Burgundy's life unravels, which shows
us Ferrell understands how to build up a character, find the vulnerabilities,
and exploit them. He could be a great dramatic actor if given the chance,
since this is what Hanks, De Niro and Pacino do all the time.
Ferrell is a master of the absurd, and takes advantage of that talent by
giving Burgundy an undeserved pomposity and fragile ego. As writer and actor,
he shows us how his and other characters who are so well known and popular
are truly empty and lonely on the inside. No matter how rude or arrogant,
you know each character will get his comeuppance, which provides the gang
with plenty of chances to make us laugh, and that's what counts.
Paul Rudd portrays the embodiment of 1970's "tough" guy street reporter,
but most of the supporting laughs go to Steve Carell as the dumb weatherman
and David Koechner as the equally dumb, but louder, more demonstrative sports
guy. Each one shows a different dimension of idiocy, but both are equally
funny, especially Koechner, who gets to show us a whole other side to the
macho sportscaster. Applegate is great as the female in the equation, and
more than holds her own one-liner for one-liner with the guys, and her
character's strength makes the movie bearable. It wouldn't be funny to see
the guys play these mean jokes on Veronica if she couldn't dish it back,
so Ferrell, McKay and Applegate smartly made her a tough cookie.
Anchorman is great at times (especially
the best ending to a movie I have seen this year), and provides plenty of
laughs, including cameos from people you love to laugh at, but it could have
been 100% intelligent, instead of 50% intelligent and 50% potty humor.
2 ½ Waffles (Out Of
4)
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