Anchorman (2004)
"If anything, it's more based on
the story of Jessica Savitch being the first woman
newscaster paired with a man for the first time."
- Will Farrell in "In Focus" magazine.
Anyone who thinks "Anchorman" is
just an extended SNL skit molded into a feature film
is really selling the piece short. While Will Farrell
certainly amps up the fun-loving goofiness to beyond
belief, the script here also has some pretty interesting
comedic moments and what is probably pretty accurate
nods to the women's liberation movement of the 70's.
Certainly the emergence of females into the workplace,
in particular the male dominated television news field,
is explored here in a relatively realistic mode even
though this film points to the humorous aspects of
male egotism and machismo juxtaposed against the women's
new found empowerment. But this is all done quite
nicely and subtly allowing the film to play first
and foremost as a comedy and secondly as a socio-political
historical thesis.
Perhaps it's no surprise at how
adept Farrell is at becoming Ron Burgundy when one
knows of his work on the seminal sketch comedy show
"Saturday Night Live," but his transformation comes
into focus even more clearly when one discovers that
the actor began his career in front of the cameras
as a TV sportscaster. Farrell really needs no such
history however to be so adept here as his work has
consistently proven that he is the perfect man for
the job when cerebral absurdism and over-the-top caricature
are the order of the day. Farrell's deadpan delivery
coupled with his eclectic references make him the
blue collar version of the antsy and academic Dennis
Miller. Farrell filters out the smugness and concentrates
on the job at hand without ironic intent and ends
up with one hilarious seeming ad-lib after another.
Farrell makes Burgundy the kind of guy who can look
at a fine woman and exclaim, "By the beard of Zeus!"
while never appearing unrealistic or pedantic. It
is an amazingly wonderful comedic performance and
one that easily reminds us of the pompous airhead
newscasters who permeated the time period.
Farrell is supported by an excellent
cast as well with Christina Applegate perfect as the
rival/love interest that the female lead here must
supply. Bridging the gap between her Kelly Bundy character
and her more recent independent and free-spirited
film characters, Applegate delivers the quintessential
70's working women, making the rough transition from
secretarial pool status to full-fledged peer. Applegate's
rigid yet open character could come across as "bitch"
or "airhead" but the actress works wonders to keep
her Veronica Corningstone dead center of the two extremes.
Again, although this is definitely a comic film with
tongue firmly planted in cheek, Applegate, like Farrell,
provides just enough in the realism department to
make the film work. Her performance easily reminds
us of the emerging female newscaster of the time,
riding in on the (not so high-)heels of Jessica Savitch
and Barbara Walters.
Other actors play well off of this
comic pairing too. Paul Rudd is particularly hilarious
as Farrell's peer Brian Fantana. Working just far
enough over the top to make him seem a revelation
far removed from his usual neurotic film persona.
And Steve Carell, who plays a reporter on Comedy Central's
"The Daily Show," steps out of that perceived persona
to create a wacky albeit mindless character. Carell
easily steals scenes with his idiotic absurdism. Added
to all of this wonderful mix is a plethora of hilarious
cameos by some of the biggest name in comedic films
today. Vince Vaughn, Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller and
Luke Wilson all stop by and all of them make us laugh.
This is a great cast on every level.
"Anchorman" may not be the funniest
movie ever made. It may not be the most inspired,
but Farrell and his cohorts have created a hilarious
and spirited film that dips its toe in the well of
70's reality just enough to make it have a sense of
honesty as well.
Note:
Also with Fred Willard, Jack Black,
Chris Parnell, Danny Trejo, Holmes Osbourne, Missi
Pyle and Stephen Root. The narrator is Bill Kurtis
of the TV show "American Justice."
Many scenes included in the film's
trailer are not in the film and some are used only
partially or in a different context.
The score is filled with a plethora
of 70's pop rock tunes of course. Farrell's Burgundy
also plays "jazz flute" and has a hilarious scene
where he performs a tune called "Deep Burgundy" written
by Marc Ellis. Farrell references Jethro Tull's "Aqualung"
during this.
The film's end-credits contain numerous
hilarious outtakes and afterwards a somewhat light-hearted
and sweet scene not in the movie is tagged on to the
end. Also, as a joke, an outtake from "Smokey and
the Bandit" is used in the outtake segment.
At times the character was named
Rod Burgundy. The film was going to be called "Action
News" at one point. The film has also had several
subtitles including "Action Newsman" and its current
"The Legend of Ron Burgundy."
