Journalists have found an important place in the halls of cinema, from Charles Foster Kane to Woodward and Bernstein. Then, there is another kind of journalist, the one who reads everything on a teleprompter and is beloved by everyone (except by the guys at the competing networks). He is the one with the great hair, the great suit and an apartment that smells of rich mahogany. He is an anchor...man, an icon of San Diego (which was discovered by Germans). His name is Ron Burgundy and his legend was told in 2004 by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Rod Burgundy.
Burgundy (Ferrell) is a 1970s San Diego legend. Everyone stops what they are doing across the city at 6:00 to watch him and his elite KVWN Channel 4 News Team made up of sports reporter Champ Kind (David Koechner), on-site reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and meteorologist Brick Tamland (Steve Carrell). In the newsroom, director Ed Harken (Fred Willard), with the help of Garth Holladay (Chris Parnell), keeps them on course. Their perfect world is invaded when ace reporter Victoria Corningstone (Christina Applegate) is hired to add diversity (an old, old wooden ship used in the Civil War era...or not) to the station. Burgundy falls for Corningstone the moment he sees her, but soon they compete for the attention of the station's cameras after Burgundy shows up late one day. Clearly, the studio isn't big enough for their egos and Corningstone sabotages Burgundy's career. But when Channel 4's coverage of the biggest story of the year is put in danger, Burgundy is called to come in to help. He does find out that the times, they are a-chaingin' (even if he has never heard the song), and learns to work with Corningstone.
When watching Anchorman, it's hard to believe that this is McKay's directorial debut. Then again, he and Ferrell worked well together during their time on Saturday Night Live (and they've since gone on to co-found Funny Or Die) and that clearly translated to the big screen. Anchorman's script is filled with perfect, hilarious lines that make it instantly quotable. It doesn't provide development for all the characters, since there's no point to that in a comedy like this. The only character development necessary is Burgundy needing to realize that he has to work with Corningstone to give the film a happy ending. This is a film that moves effortlessly at break-neck speed for an hour and a half, the perfect length for a comedy, so if any other character went through a change, it would just slow it down.
What Ferrell and McKay do so well is they make sure that Burgundy doesn't dominate the film. After all, an entire movie focused on just a sexist, self-centered jerk would drive an audience crazy. Instead, they give Rudd, Carrell and Koechner fantastic characters to play, who all have their own classic scenes. (My favorite of the three is Rudd – the Sex Panther scene is priceless.) Vince Vaughn also has a great bit part as Wes Mantooth (I love the names in this film), the anchor at the number two network.
You also have to hand it to Applegate. She's the lone woman in this film and she pulls off a great performance. Corningstone could have been a piece of dead serious cardboard, but Applegate is able to add humor to the role, while still giving it that necessary dramatic flair.
Even if Anchorman doesn't land on the list of the greatest films ever made in the history of cinema, it is probably going to go down as among the best comedies of the last decade at the very least. After all, think of just how many careers were helped out by the film. It gets just about everything right, with an amazingly over-the-top lead character backed by three hilarious supporting actors. Add in the fact that Applegate can hold her own against Ferrell's character's massive ego and you have one fun film. If there ever was a comedy that could produce an enjoyable sequel, it's Anchorman. (And thankfully, we're getting one.)
“You stay classy, San Diego.”