Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) User Reviews

Anchorman : The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

[dpolwatte · 8/10 · 28 April 2020]

One of the most quoted movies of our time, this is Adam Mckay's and Will Ferrell's masterpiece. With it's funny remarks and unmatchable cast, this will live with every moviegoer as a great comic masterpiece.

Overall - 4/5

You've probably heard many of the jokes already

[cricketbat · 8/10 · 21 September 2018]

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a completely ridiculous, yet very hilarious movie. There are so many quotable lines in this movie that even if you haven't seen it, you've probably heard many of the jokes already. It's a great balance between situational comedy and absolute absurdity. Plus, there's even some actual story mixed in with the humor. This is one Will Ferrell movie that I think hits the comedy nail right on the head.

Funny Anchorman

[jon.h.ochiai · 8/10 · 13 July 2004]

This summer I've seen several intentionally stupid funny movies, and enjoyed them. Adam McKay's "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" is no exception. Seems that my taste for high concept cinema has been influenced by the summer-- well not really. This movie written by McKay and it's star Will Ferrell is an outrageous and completely over the top comedy. Applaud Will Ferrell as the mind bendingly stupid and self absorbed, San Diego newscaster, Ron Burgundy. Will Ferrell is genius in playing Ron straight without character dispersions. Ferrell creates a great deadpan sense with his cohabiting dog, Baxter, and the fact that his character Ron Burgundy will read ANYTHING on the teleprompter, his tragic flaw, well at least one of several, is priceless. Ferrell also never crosses the line of being a complete jerk which is an amazing accomplishment. In fact, Ferrell gives Ron a muted charm-- he really does grow on you.

Basically, "Anchorman" is an extended sitcom. Ron is informed by his station manager, Ed (a funny Fred Willard), that he will have a co-anchor, Veronica Corningstone (a hot Christina Applegate). Turns out that Veronica was a woman whom was immune to Ron's vast charm at a wild news crew party. Veronica is beautiful, ambitious, and smart. She too has aspirations of being a Network Anchor. The Boys Club news crew which include sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner), feature story guy Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), and the dumb as a post weatherman Brick Tamland (Steven Carell) all make their play for Veronica. However, she falls for Ron in spite of himself. Ron eventually woos her affections in a totally wacky jazz flute display. The screen writing is so skewed in a good way, and it has absolutely no shame. There is a classic scene with Ron's dog Baxter, and a bridge that according to my bud, John, shatters a fundamental script writing rule. In another memorable scene Ron gives an erroneous translation of the name San Diego to Veronica that is hilarious. "Anchorman" also benefits from cameos of talented actors, most notably Vince Vaughn as Wes Mantooth, the rival station anchor. Christina Applegate looks great, and truly has a talent for comedy.

"Anchorman" is completely over the top, and ignores any boundaries. That really makes it work. "Anchorman" is broad stroke farce done well. Will Ferrell demonstrates great comedic gifts. I want to see what he creates next. For now, "Anchorman" is just great fun, and very funny stuff.

60 Percent of the Time, it Makes You Laugh Every Time

[klove-lax · 16 November 2012]

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is easily one of the funniest movies of the 21st century. The star studded comedy cast along with the great role play by actors such as Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd makes the film a great comedy for the generation of young adults and many adults who like 'stupid funny' movies. By describing it as 'stupid funny' I am summarizing how the film does not have anyone serious parts in it and makes jokes that can be inappropriate. The actors in this movie capture the audience with their satirical interpretation of late 1900's news crews. In this film actor Will Ferrell supported by actors previously listed as well as stars Vince Vaughen, Christina Applegate and many others go through the battle of separate news stations battling to be the top station in San Diego, California. This film wins the audience through its witty humor and classic one- liners that never seem to get old. Along with that the main characters of the film play extreme stereotypes that never break character. There is a stereotypical cowboy named Champ, a dummy named Brick, an overconfident ladies man named Brain, and of course a cocky lead anchor named Ron Burgundy. This odd combination of characters blends effectively by the randomness of the film. These characters begin the film as the most successful anchor crew in all of San Diego. They constantly gloat of their success to all the other all male crews. Their perfect reality slowly fades as an inspired young woman, Veronica Corningstone, is forced into their crew by the news station. The supporting news crew men all try to stun the beautiful lady at first, but of course they all fail. Ron Burgundy though succeeds in capturing the heart of Veronica but soon screws up ending their relationship harshly. ***(Next few lines are a spoiler)Ron cannot handle this woman sharing his role in the office and eventually goes crazy to the point where he is fired and goes into a solemn state. Eventually through comedic happenings he loses his friends and his beloved dog. After a long time of struggling Ron works to recapture his job and Veronica, and gets the chance by saving her from two grizzly bears during a news report at the zoo. *** As anyone can tell this story line and the characters are extremely random and 'out there', which I believe makes the movie all the more funny. You can never anticipate what happens next in the film because it ranges from a fight of different news crews in an alleyway to shopping for new suits. The one- liners that I mentioned earlier really bring out a lot of the comedy in the film. Some examples of these are following the news crew fight in the alleyway where the used axes and weapons, Ron Burgundy just says "Well that escalated quickly." Or another time Brian Fantana is talking about his 'illegal' cologne that he says "They've done studies, you know. 60 percent of the time, it works every time." He says this when referring to picking up woman while wearing the cologne. Just small things like that they say with their smug facial expressions make this movie a must- see. I would extremely recommend it to anyone searching for a good laugh.

more a pleasant parody than a biting satire

[Buddy-51 · 7/10 · 3 September 2005]

"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" takes us back to those halcyon days of the 1970's, when the hair was as big as the lapels and women were just beginning to assume their rightful place in America's television newsrooms.

Will Ferrell plays a Ted Baxter-type anchorman (is it mere coincidence that his dog is named Baxter?) - vain, narcissistic, none too gifted in the brains department - who has worked for years as the sole news dispenser at a top-rated San Diego station. All is going well for Ron Burgundy until the station manager decides the newscast needs a bit more "diversity" and hires a female reporter named Veronica Cornerstone (Christina Applegate) to come on board. Cornerstone is a brainy, blow-dried blonde with a driving ambition to be the first female anchor on network news. Since most of the men who work at the station, including Burgundy, are dyed-in-the-wool misogynists, Ms. Cornerstone faces an uphill battle of sexist comments, schoolboy pranks, and subtle (and not so subtle) undermining as she climbs her way to the top (though she is not above pulling a few dirty tricks herself to get what she wants). Things really get dicey when Burgundy and Cornerstone begin dating and quickly fall in love, a situation rife with potential disaster as Cornerstone begins to encroach on Burgundy's professional territory.

"Anchorman" is a light-hearted, enjoyable little comedy that, unlike a full-throated satire (say, like "Network"), often goes for the easy laugh instead of the incisive barb. The movie is at its best when it is parodying the corny graphics and the tendency to over hype the trivial ("Panda Watch: Day 46") that define modern newscasts - and at its worst when it is indulging in silly, often scatological jokes and slapstick throw away bits. Like most mainstream comedies, the humor in "Anchorman" ranges from the mildly funny to the downright hilarious, the latter including a clever "West Side Story" parody involving a rumble between rival news teams, and a conversation between a dog and a bear that ends the movie on a ludicrous but knee-slapping high note.

Ferrell (who co-wrote the film) is his usual manic self, unctuous but likable, and Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, and Fred Willard do fine work in supporting roles. Moreover, writer/director Adam McKay provides a smattering of guest appearances from such well known stars as Jack Black, Luke Wilson, Tim Robbins, Vince Vaughn, Jerry Stiller and even Ben Stiller, many of who are not listed in the official credits.

"Anchorman" goes down easily - a bit too easily, perhaps, for a film that, with a little more courage, might have become a scathing satire on an industry that could do with a little merciless skewering right about now. Still, "Anchorman" is fun while it lasts - and these days we'll settle for what we can get when it comes to laughs.

This absurd comedy had to convince me...and somehow it did

[MaxJSteele · 10/10 · 23 January 2006]

When Anchorman came into theaters, I avoided it like a dead sewer rat. When it came onto HBO, I pretended it didn't exist. In fact, I would not have even LOOKED at it had my remote control not stuck on the stupid channel. So I watched a few minutes. I didn't laugh. I wasn't surprised.

Then one day, surfing the premium movie channels, I was thoroughly unimpressed by the offerings. So I turned on Anchorman, about 5 minutes in. For the next hour and a half, I proceeded to laugh hysterically. Scene after scene, line after line, I found new reasons to laugh. By the end, I could hardly breathe.

Unconvinced that I had stumbled upon a a re-watchable movie, I tested and retested it over and over. And over. Result confirmed.

Anchorman tells a simple story: acclaimed (and consequently arrogant) news anchor Ron Burgundy is forced to adapt when an attractive new female member of the Channel 4 news team (Applegate) begins changing the way he and his quirky news team work. That's it. This story is predictable, prescription-esquire, boring. But Anchorman does not draw it's strength from story. It draws from the hilarious situations. It draws from randomness. It draws from brief--but memorable--cameos. It draws from those 100 or so unforgettable one-liners.

That is, if you're looking for cinema, for a fine work of craftsmanship, a eloquent script, and an Oscar nomination, go watch a FILM. If you find randomness hilarious, then watch this MOVIE.

Consistent and thorough silliness keep this above-average comedy afloat

[byght · 7/10 · 12 July 2004]

I went to "Anchorman" expecting another super-mainstream, lowest-common-denominator, SNL-derived romp. Now, these aren't the worst movies in the world, to be sure. "Happy Gilmore" and "Old School" are pretty agreeable ways to while away the time. But usually about an hour in to these affairs, I've had enough of the broadness and predictability, which starts to get downright oppressive. It's not just that they're lowbrow--it's that they're so overwhelmingly, disappointingly conventional.

Luckily, this isn't what "Anchorman" is. "Anchorman" is a refreshingly off-kilter outing from an unlikely source--Will Ferrell, the current reigning lord of middle-of-the-road fratboy Sandlerism. The film has a lot more in common with Mel Brooks and Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker than anything in the SNL family tree. It prizes out-and-out silliness and absurdity over bathroom humor and penis jokes (though there's plenty of the latter, don't worry), and pulls it off admirably. In essence, the key to this stuff is never letting off of the goofiness even for a second--the audience should never be allowed to take anything seriously.

"Anchorman" achieves this with exceedingly silly and bizarre dialogue complemented by killer comic performances from Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Vince Vaughn and Steve Carrel. You'd have to be lobotomized to maintain a straight face through lines like "It's made with bits of real panther. So you know it's good." and "I'm riding a big, furry tractor!" The direction and pacing are also pretty solid at times, and the requisite celeb cameos are very nicely done (especially in one particular scene which I wouldn't dream of ruining).

The film's not without its flaws, certainly. Chief among them is the wasting of one of the best comic character actors in the biz: Fred Willard. If ever there was someone born to play a smarmy local TV newsman, Willard is it. But he's inexplicably cast here as a dull station suit, while David Koechner plods through the sportscaster role that was clearly meant for him--passable but certainly not as inspired as Willard would have been. Also, I think that the story would have benefited if Vaughn and his cronies, the closest thing to villains in this lightheaded romp, had a little more face time.

But these are comparatively minor problems--the point is that Ferrel has given us something that's really funny in a way that's appreciably different from the endless SNL movie-mill. It's not Monty Python, but it is a healthy departure from what has become the comic mainstream. Most importantly, the laughs are frequent, long, and deep--check it out and you won't be disappointed.

The perfected art of being stupid

[Derek237 · 9/10 · 9 March 2005]

In a year packed with comedies that were all a bit stupid and silly (and all seemed to feature Ben Stiller), Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy reigns supreme above them all. This is a movie that is well aware of its own stupidity, and best of all, it is able to embrace it skillfully so that it is exactly as silly and immature as it wants to be. It is such a great comedy; I'd consider it the Naked Gun of our generation.

As apposed to many, many, other comedies, Anchorman actually gets better as it moves along. Most of the time a comedy like this will use up all the laughs in the first hour and then try to take a serious, lovey-dovey turn in the last act. There are more laughs in the last half hour than in the first half hour, which usually is never the case. It's as if there was some mathematical comedic formula that spread the laughs out in a way that it was consistently funny. Or, maybe they just got lucky. I dunno.

I loved all the characters in the movie, every role no matter how small had a great moment or two. Will Ferrel of course, the star of the movie who is just perfect as Ron. He's so so funny 'cause he's such a lovable idiot. Even Christina Appelgate, who was in a role that quite honestly anyone could have done, is able to make it her own and provide some laughs. There is a scene that has a lot of cameos that was hilarious as well. It was one of those moments that takes you completely by surprise.

So, what else can I say except that I loved Anchorman! It's the best "stupid" comedy I've seen in years. This is Will Ferrel at his best and it will be hard to top.

My rating: 9/10

It's got a few laughs but don't expect a whole lot more

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 7 December 2008]

To me, the Ron Burgundy story feels a lot like a Saturday Night Live sketch that lasts a bit too long--though it certainly has its funny moments. If you are expecting a film as hilarious as TALLADEGA NIGHTS, this one just isn't up to it, but it is an amiable time-passer.

Will Farrell stars as the title character--a very popular fictional anchorman in San Diego in the 1970s. Ron is consistently #1 in the ratings and on top of his game when a new female reporter (Christina Applegate) arrives at the station. She is competent and pretty but in the sexist 70s world of this film, that just isn't enough. Ron and the rest of the staff just want to sleep with her and won't give her a chance at any serious news stories. With all the double-entendres and sexist remarks, this aspect of the story seemed to go on forever--plus the relationship between the two characters just seemed flat and unconvincing--even for such a slight comedy. Their interactions or the sexist remarks might have been really funny one or two or even three times, but after a while it was all like beating the proverbial dead horse--it just stopped being funny. What were funny, though, were the strange random little plot twists here and there not related to the relationship between Farrell and Applegate. I loved the fight scene between the various reporters from the local stations as well as the scenes with the dog--they were so weird and funny that they made the film worth seeing. So in other words, when the plot was ignored, the film soared!

Overall, a reasonably funny but not especially inspired comedy that is about the same quality level as SEMI-PRO--both decent Will Farrell comedies, but certainly not as memorable as TALLADEGA NIGHTS or STRANGER THAN FICTION. This was mostly because the jokes fell pretty flat after a while and there wasn't enough to sustain an entire full-length film.

A legendary comedy, Will Ferrell at his best

[0w0 · 8/10 · 1 May 2020]

Apart from spawning multiple memes over the years, this movie also got quite a few laughs out of me. The comedy isn't what you'd call 'high brow' but that's because it's aimed at the 'immature kid' in all of us, and that's why it makes us laugh. "Anchorman 2" was a huge disappointment and I wouldn't recommend that you watch that at all.... Just watch the original and appreciate how good it is.

Very funny -- but very stupid

[Bry-2 · 7/10 · 19 July 2005]

If you're in the mood for just plain stupid humor, this is the movie for you!

Will Farrell brings his brand of earnest smarminess, along with the cheesiest mustache since Jim Carrey's in _Me, Myself, and Irene_, to his role as the eponymous Ron Burgundy.

The 70's is brought to hilarious life -- everyone smokes, the San Diego sky is clotted with smog, there is no such thing as "sexual harassment" as an issue - it's just a way of life. It's like the goofier side of _Boogie Nights_.

Recommended if you're tired of seriously good movies!

Not Bad!

[g-bodyl · 8/10 · 25 September 2010]

I'm gonna start off saying that I'm not a huge fan of Will Ferrell. He was okay in Kicking and Screaming and Step Brothers. He was actually funny in his Austin Powers cameos. Anyway, I thought Ferrell was okay here. It was the supporting cast that made this film.

This is about the San Diego news anchor people and how one woman is destined to be the first woman ever to broadcast news on air but not if Ron Burgundy can help it.

Now I'm gonna describe the funny stuff. Steve Carell is awesome as the dimwit idiot. The cameos(and there are plenty)provide enough laughs. The fight at the end is awesome and so is the dialogue between a dog and a bear.

Overall, this is a solid movie. This may be one of Ferrell's best and that's saying something. I rate this movie 8/10.

slow starting and dumb, but occasionally hilarious

[TheNorthernMonkee · 6/10 · 7 May 2005]

SPOILERS Will Ferrell has been a bit of a Hollywood golden child over the last few years. Progressing from his regular stint on "Saturday Night Live" Ferrell released 2003 feel good Christmas hit "Elf". Brilliant at improvisation, Ferrell has a face for comedy and after "Elf", his next big hit was going to be "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy". Slow to start though, "Anchorman" is an incredibly inconsistent film. Occasionally very, very funny, and occasionally woeful, this film is not perhaps the Ferrell gem it really should have been.

Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) and his crack news team are number one in San Diego. When ambitious Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) arrives on the scene and wants to be an anchor, things begin to slowly go wrong. After an incident involving a burrito and a Jack Black cameo, Burgundy's career begins to go disastrously downhill.

Supported by more American comedians than you can think of, Ferrell is his usual self in his guise as the obsessive news anchor. With solid performances by Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and Vince Vaughn, Ferrell is also helped by cameos from stars including Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson and even Tim Robbins. Everyone named blatantly enjoys themselves as well. With countless improvisation parts, the film exploits talents that some of these stars are naturally gifted at.

Unfortunately for "Anchorman", irrelevant of how good the cast is, at times it just isn't funny. Starting slowly, it possesses one or two good jokes for the first thirty minutes. Almost torturous to watch, you find yourself reaching for the control but never being able to turn over. Like a Howard Stern radio show, you continue to watch the film, not because you particularly enjoy it, but because you want to see what random comment will come next.

Perhaps this is the key thing about this film. As it progresses, it does gradually become funnier and funnier. If you compare this advance though with the ever growing randomness of events, there is a distinct similarity. The scene involving Jack Black for example is well thought up and conceived, but how the scene progresses is just so obscure, that you find yourself unable to stop laughing.

As the film approaches it's conclusion, this complete randomness gets even worse. In a scene involving bears towards the end, you wonder how the film will solve a problem, and just as you begin to construct a rudimentary idea in your brain involving stones and rope, along comes a conclusion which you would never have been able to predict in a million years. As a result, you DO find yourself laughing, but the question should really be whether you laugh at the jokes, or laugh at the complete disregard for sensible plot development. The story is random, but it can be funny.

"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" should have been Will Ferrell's biggest film to date. Starring the comedian in a role he is brilliant at, he is also helped by an able and experienced cast. Ultimately though, for long periods the film just isn't that funny. Getting increasingly random as it progresses, there are moments when you do find yourself falling off your chair in laughter, but ultimately these are just a bit too short in number for the film to be worth the effort. If you want to watch Ferrell at work, your better off with "Elf".

Insipid, man

[ellyphunt · 3/10 · 25 January 2005]

I was never as excited about this movie as my boyfriend was, mostly because I chalk Will Ferrell's humor up to the level of fratboy hijinx, sex jokes, and toilet humor. But I was willing to chill on the couch and watch the hour and a half comedy. I liked him okay on SNL, and I was mildly amused my Old School. I thought it would be a nice way to relax on a Monday night.

And relax I did...almost to the point of falling asleep. Not only were the jokes not funny, there were so few of them. Long periods of boring-ness separated the gags, which included, and I still cannot believe this, Will Farrell and Christina Applegate riding around on animated unicorns, Paul Rudd spraying on cologne that contained chunks of raw meat (panther), Luke Wilson getting his arm chopped off (not even worthy of the Monty Python memory it conjures up), and Will Farrell ACTUALLY EATING A PIECE OF FECES.

Have we come to this? Is this what's supposed to make us laugh now? Even the most quotable line from the movie, which the men in my life will not stop repeating, is "you smell like big foot's dick." Even that just isn't funny. (note: watch Napoleon Dynamite if you want some real quotable material.) The only redeeming qualities of the movie are Steven Carell and Jack Black's brief scene with Baxter, the dog. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. "Biker...Punted...Baxter" Save your time and your money on this one. I sure am glad I didn't have to pay to see it...

Sweet Lincoln's mullet!

[tieman64 · 23 May 2012]

"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" stars comedian Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy, a San Diego news anchor who has a big moustache. Why does he have a big moustache? Because big moustaches are funny. Why is his name Burgundy? Because Burgundy sounds ridiculous. Who works with Ron? How about a weatherman. Make that a "legally retarded" weatherman who likes lamps. Who else? A sportscaster called Champion. Make his surname Kind. Champion Kind. The dumber the name the better.

The rest of "Anchorman" proceeds along similarly improvisational lines, its cast and crew essentially making ridiculous stuff up as they go along. The film was so loose and improvisational that an entirely new film ("Wake Up Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie") was assembled from its unused footage. As Farrell and his fellow troupe of comedians embrace absurd non-sequiturs, in which different stupid lines, words and jokes are randomly offered up for each take, the film's director, Adam McKay, found himself confused as to what comedic material to include in his final film.

"Anchorman", whose anarchic tone is undermined by its formulaic plot, works best in its giddily nonsensical sequences, in which characters randomly break into song, combat, walk about with erections or kick dogs off bridges. Elsewhere it works thanks to a long parade of recognisable faces (Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Danny Trejo, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell), most of whom pop up, say wacky stuff and then disappear. The film was a sleeper hit and has become a cult favourite with certain people. Its title - "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" - recalls the titles of famous picturesque novels of the eighteenth and ninth century ("The Adventures of Roderick Random", "The Luck of Barry Lyndon", "The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle", "The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha"), all of which were downright ridiculous. Ferrell's no Dickens, though. While those novels aim at satire, Ferrell's films salivate over ultra ridiculousness. His characters are big goof-balls, macho men completely unaware of how moronic they really are. "Anchorman's" plot (it's set in the 1970s, when feminism marched into the newsroom) itself deals with a group of men (and a predominately male oriented profession) being "shown up" by a single hard-working, dedicated woman.

In this regard, all the men in the film are posturing, peacocking, competitive idiots who ooze a testosterone infused vapidity. Into their midsts steps Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate). She's part of the rising tide of women's liberation, her presence highlighting a blustering, clueless masculinity, and various male misconceptions about women ("Why don't you go back to your home on whore island!", various hilarious deleted jokes about the way men misunderstand menstruation etc). The film's director, Adam McKay, is responsible for the only other political Ferrell flick thus far, "The Other Guys", though both are more interested in broad jokes than satire. Whether one finds this type of humour intolerable or funny depends largely on one's blood alcohol levels.

7.9/10 - Worth two viewings. See "Everything Must Go" and "The Other Guys".

Once Going, I Loved It

[FilmFanInTheHouse · 7/10 · 17 June 2009]

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

directed by

Adam McKay

Uproar erupts when Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) must share the news room with a woman anchor.

Like many comedies, Anchorman does have a slow start, but as it goes on, the jokes don't stop. Will Ferrell and gang have created such wonderful and hilarious characters who won't be forgotten anytime soon. Add to this, some fantastic cameos from stars such as Tim Robbins and Jack Black, and you have one of the funniest films of 2004.

"Anchorman" soars past stupidity on colorful, quirky characters

[Movie_Muse_Reviews · 8/10 · 18 June 2008]

You won't get an argument out of me that "Anchorman" is just a stupid movie. It just delivers stupidity with a barbaric yet ingenious sense of creativity that makes it the best comedy that a mind from "Saturday Night Live" has ever come up with.

SNL writer/director Adam McKay didn't have to do much for this film, only assemble an incredible ensemble filled with some of the best improvising minds in Hollywood. Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and Steve Carrell are just the highlights for what is a tremendously talented cast that sells you crap like it's gold and you buy right into it.

Ferrell is Ron Burgundy, easily his best and most unique character of all time, an anchorman for a San Diego news affiliate in the 1970s who thinks he's the biggest thing ever/God's gift to women. He's remarkably stupid with an odd set of talents and an air like he's really smart and awesome. Carrell and Rudd are two of the other reporters: one a retarded weatherman and the other an over-cocky ladies man/field reporter that makes Burgundy look smart. Carrell's performance is golden although clearly written by someone with the decency of a ten-year-old. Rounding out the cast is on-the-rise female reporter Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) who balances out the ridiculous humor a bit and I also am partial to the immaculate Fred Willard who is the news director.

Still, in all its shear ridiculousness, "Anchorman" shines. Its characters and random sequences never dreamed of before because they are so utterly preposterous work despite your inclinations for them to be horrible. That said, "Anchorman" is not going to work for everyone and amidst the trash that followed it it won't appear as totally original in the future. But nevertheless, the trials and tribulations of the lovable Ron Burgundy really work better than what happens to most stupid comedy protagonists when it comes to getting you to care. It's really Ferrell's best comedic persona and the only one he could revisit with any success.

"One Of Will's Best!"

[gwnightscream · 7/10 · 16 July 2012]

Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Paul Rudd and Fred Willard star in this 2004 comedy. This film takes place in the 70's in San Diego, California where we meet news anchor, Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) and his co-anchors, Brick Hanland (Carell), Chimp Kind (Koechner) and Brian Fantana (Rudd). Soon, newswoman, Veronica Corningstone (Applegate) gets a job with them and Ron and her fall for each other. Soon, they go head to head competing for an anchor position which causes Ron to lose his job. He eventually get his job back and makes peace with Veronica. Willard plays Ron's boss, Ed Harkin. This is one of Will's best, he and the cast are great and I recommend this.

A hilarious classic! ( A+ Movie) My Ratings 10/10

[THE-BEACON-OF-MOVIES-RAFA · 10/10 · 7 February 2020]

A movie not only with great acting with many laugh out loud moments but showing what the news industry was like for women back then. Ferrell does it again

Dumb, has its moments

[Bravesfan17 · 7/10 · 21 May 2010]

I enjoy most of Will Ferrell's movies. He knows how to take unusual characters and make them his own. But Anchorman is just too stupid. Will Ferrell is Ron Burgundy, a news anchor who is full of himself.

The movie is funny in some parts, such as the dialogue between Burgundy, his co-workers, and rival reporters.

David Koechner, Paul Rudd, and Steve Carell are all funny as Burgundy's news team.

The best part is a fight between all the news teams. The heads of all the other news teams are hilarious cameos by Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Tim Robbins, and Ben Stiller.

The dialogue is witty, but sometimes the movie gets to be too dumb.

It's Summertime: Lighten Up and Laugh Without Guilt: No Thinking Necessary

[lawprof · 8/10 · 9 July 2004]

The most devoted cineastes and the average hoi polloi moviegoers both need to kick back and laugh, without probing or analysis, at a goofball, outrageously funny comedy with zero depth. And that's exactly what director Adam McKay (also co-writer with star Will Ferrell) provides in "Anchorman." A very warm summer day, like today, was perfect for the quick gags and physical comedy of this nutty flick. Maybe it's even more of a relief for us folks who are still arguing with each other about "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Control Room," documentaries that make us confront a difficult present and a tenuous future.

Will Ferrell is TV news anchor Ron Burgundy in 1970s San Diego. This is Pre-B.W. (Barbara Walters), a dark age when men reported the news almost exclusively. Burgundy, shallow and self-absorbed without redemption, chases skirts and is so genuinely stupid he reads ANYTHING on the teleprompter. His news crew consists of adulators and one misfit, Brick Tamland, played with unremitting mental blankness by Steve Carrell. Burgundy's dog is a delight, a pooch who can bark in a few languages.

The "Men's Club" is jolted by the station honcho's decision to add a woman to the newsroom, largely to appease the network satraps. He says it's necessary in the interests of "diversity," a word one staff member doesn't even understand. Enter pretty but tough Veronica Corningstone, Christina Applegate. Applegate makes what really is a tough comedic role work completely.

A misadventure by Burgundy results in Veronica's pinch-hitting chance to anchor the evening news. Veronica scores big time. She and Ron are already lovers and she expects him to be thrilled that his absence was her big break. No way and the rest of the film is Ron's Revenge and Veronica's Counterattack.

A subplot is the rivalry between Ron and his crew and the mobile news gatherers of competing stations. This ends in a donnybrook reminiscent of the silent film era having no rhyme or reason. The other stations' combatants are led by Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller and Tim Robbins. Robbins, one of the most intelligent and versatile personalities in film and stage today, should be watched closely. He almost loses his composure acting the zany script. Even Jack Black makes it into the flick as a dedicated junkie.

Don't miss the outtakes as the end credits role, especially Ferrell's last comment on what the movie really is.

Pure summer fun-laugh, be happy.

8/10

Funny movie about a group of news anchors goofing off

[Kickass25 · 7/10 · 18 September 2013]

This movie is great, immensely funny, with lots of hilarious references.

Definitely worth checking out.

Though it is probably not one for the little ones to see; It is certainly one of the great comedy movie team ups with an all-star cast.

It is one of my favorite movies with Will Ferill.

There are many hilarious references to beliefs of male dominance and sexual jokes. It is certainly one of the funnier movies of the year it was made.

It's particularly funny seeing the various news stations going at it with each other and arguing.

Beauty and the Self-Absorbed Anchorman

[nycritic · 8/10 · 18 July 2005]

I came unto this movie only for the scene in the trailer that showed Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) leaping into each other's arms, right on top of a conference table, as Ferrell yelled, "Let's make a baby!" Which is essentially saying I decided to give it a chance out of vague curiosity, not expecting an even remotely good collection of skits straight out of Saturday Night Live. And, I'll say this: I was proved wrong.

The story that THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY tells is simple, but deceptive: while having Ron Burgundy (San Diego's Channel 4's main anchorman) as its main character, it's actually the story of how Veronica Corningstone came unto this TV station and on the way to becoming the first female news anchor confronted massive opposition from her male co-workers who wouldn't even assign her a decent office on her first day of work, much less give her the chance to report the news. That she is quoted as being an ice queen after she aggressively rebukes the sexual advances of Burgundy's clique (recalling in a much lesser way Faye Dunaway's emasculating Diana Christensen) is part of her charm, and it's this charm the reason Burgundy eventually falls for her, and part of what belies her true nature once she decides to climb her own ladder to success.

Applegate is great in her role because she never tries to make her character too harsh even when her own mean streak comes out late in the movie and gets Ron Burgundy fired from the office. While still not having a breakout role, her interpretation has the right element of spunk and humanity, and her chemistry is very palpable with Ferrell whenever they're on camera together which is often. Ferrell, on the other hand, let's loose, but because he's so good, his role doesn't become something that belongs strictly on Saturday Night Live and I think he has the potential to do with his career what Tom Hanks has done with his own which is transcend broad comedy and move into power-acting. His Ron Burgundy is, quite simply, a deluded clown, but a likable one, much like the Ted Baxter was on THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW.

Much credit has to go to the writers who devised the hilarious jokes. The names of the characters alone are exaggerated, as is the scene where the news anchors from rival stations collide in a bloodbath (which features cameos from Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Tim Robbins), and another great moment when Burgundy encounters an angry biker (Jack Black) on his way to work, and who kicks his dog into the bay. We can see the dog is clearly a doll, but the temerity of the scene which recalls a similar scene in THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY stands.

I think the essence of the movie can be summed up in one scene, though: who can recall growing up in the 70s and seeing the credits roll as the news program came to an end and the two anchors were seen chit-chatting amicably? There's a great inter-cutting between what a television (in Any Home, USA) is showing to the open verbal war that both anchors (Applegate and Ferrell) are engaging in. It makes one think of what actually happens once the newscast is over.

More of the same

[tastyhotdogs · 6/10 · 28 December 2008]

Re-watched this the other on DVD as I hadn't seen it in a while, here's my review.

"Anchorman" is the story of fictional 70's anchorman Ron Burgundy (Ferrell), king of the news anchors in San Diego. The times are changing though and after Burgundy is unable to go on-air one night, reporter Veronica Corningstone (Applegate, in her best work since "Married....With Children) fills in so well that she's given a co-anchor role, a first for a woman. Burgundy and his news team are dumbstruck and set out to sabotage her career, in the process doing themselves some damage too. Will they turn her off anchor work for good? See it to find out.

OK, with some funny scenes but nothing extremely memorable, the highlights being Burgundy doing vocal warm-ups (make sure you see the extras disc), the news team fights (with cameos from Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller amongst others) and most scenes with Brick (played by Steve Carell). A bit too stupid in spots, as is the case with most Ferell movies, but enough jokes to make it easily re-watchable.

Are you serious?

[moviesleuth2 · 1/10 · 11 January 2009]

I've heard a lot about "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy." After all, it made Will Ferrell famous to movie audiences. I've heard it been called everything from just hilarious to being one of the defining comedies of our time. Surprised was I to find out that "Anchorman" is not only overrated, it's downright unwatchable.

Ron Burgandy (Will Ferrell) is Ron Burgandy, San Diego's most famous news reporter with an ego to match. Everything seems to be perfect for Ron, until a new reporter, a beautiful female(!) named Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) threatens his seat of power.

I've seen a few of Will Ferrell's movies, and I have to admit that I am not a fan. He can be funny, like in "Elf" or "Old School." But here he's so obnoxious that it's torture to watch him "be funny." All he does is yell and scream a lot and act like a guy with a big ego. It isn't funny.

Everyone here is extremely stupid. That's not inherently a bad thing; being dumb can be funny. Take a look at "Borat;" they don't get any dumber than that guy. But what makes "Borat" funny and "Anchroman" a trial is how it plays dumb. "Borat" intelligently rips apart the dumbest parts of American culture. "Anchorman" plays dumb by acting like middle schoolers. What I mean is that "Anchorman" thinks its being funny by being crude. Crude does not necessarily equal funny. It has to be clever, which "Anchorman" is definitely not.

My God, this is an awful movie. I don't think I've ever had a worse time watching a movie, and that includes "The Royal Tenenbaums." That is a record that I hope I never break.