Anchorman (Movie Review)

I've been a tad pressed for time since the return from vacation. So pressed, in fact, that I'm not sure when/how I've even managed to find the time to post my last few entries (not to mention, the time to watch the movies I've reviewed). Though I suspect it has something to do with only watching movies while I workout and/or eat. At times, a single movie is watched over the course of 3-4 days. And reviews have been hastily thrown together on (now rare) lunch breaks, sometimes days after I actually watched the film.

This is just my way of explaining the less-than-grand quality of my last several entries... including this one.

[And, if asked, I'm sure I can craft another excuse for the lacking quality of prior entries, too.]

---

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) was perhaps the funniest movie I've seen since Elf (2003). And while I'd still say that unusual Christmas gem is the more entertaining of the two, I was nevertheless sorry that it took me so long to get around to watching this other Will Ferrell masterpiece.

OK, so perhaps "masterpiece" is too strong of a word. But in a film with lines such as "Look, Ron, I'm riding a furry tractor!" and "When there's weather to report... I report the weather" an oddball like me is laughing long after the credits roll. While I certainly wouldn't recommend this film for everyone, I do think it's quite a treat for those with a softspot for Ralph Wiggum (whose crazy one-liners always crack me up on the The Simpsons) or even Monty Python skits.

By this design, the humor makes little sense; and yet, it's so cleverly crafted and flawlessly delivered (kudos to Ferrell and Steve Carell especially) that, on more than one occasion, I had to pause the film until the laughter subsided. It draws from a sort of absurdism that — while not as refined or existentially aware as something like Waiting for Godot — underscores life's inanities.

This humor functioned as the ligament holding together an otherwise weak plot. While I suspect people who like Monty Python, as I mentioned above, are more likely to enjoy Anchorman, I certainly find the former to be the better crafted of the two. That is to say, Anchorman is not without its weaknesses... but, for me, the strong points more than make up for any shortcomings.

In short: Anchorman has a niche audience. If you're not open to humor that's as mindless as it is clever... best to leave Ron Burgundy on the shelf.

Otherwise, take it home and enjoy. It's far better than the awful "comedy," Benchwarmers, and it's even better than Ferrell's newest, Talladega Nights.