Anchorman [12a]
Released: 2004, Run-time: 94minutes, Genre: Comedy.
Film only review.

Plot Synopsis
It's the sexy 70s and Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is San Diego's top news anchorman. He and his news room pals, Brian (Paul Rudd), Brick (Steve Carrell)and Champ (David Koechner) get the ratings and the girls. There is no stopping this unrivalled gang...that is until a woman (gulp!) joins the crew. Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) is attractive, intelligent and knows how to handle herself in a male orientated industry. It seems Ron Burgundy and Co. may have met their match.


The Review
Hmm...Anchorman....profoundly sexist 'man-comedy' or humorous reflection on 70s attitudes towards gender stereotypes. Whilst there are arguments for both, I am leaning more towards the former, though being a woman that doesn't mean I hated it- I just don't seem to find it as funny as the men in my life have done.

I had tried to watch this film when it was first released, my then boyfriend said 'watch it...it's awesome' so being the amazing girlfriend that I am, I tried. Honestly I did but within 20 minutes or so Will Ferrell had wound me up so much that I turned it off, dooming Anchorman to an eternity of being the film I hate and Will Ferrell as 'that comedy guy I can't stand'. Then I saw Elf...and Step Brothers...and Bewitched and he managed to change my mind. It took many years until I was ready to give Ron Burgundy a second chance though. It came about because my current boyfriend and all his friends adore Anchorman and quote it constantly hence my opinion that it is a 'man-comedy'. I was told if I didn't watch and love Anchorman then my boyfriend wasn't allowed to marry me. Ever. It was a tough call.

So here is my review on 'the film I hate'. It turns out, it's okay. It's watchable and it generated a titter of laughter in parts. I didn't laugh as much as my partner did but I expected that. Will Ferrell (Ron Burgundy), Paul Rudd (Brian Fantana ), Steve Carrell (Brick Tamland) and David Koechner (Champ Kind) are fantastic in their roles, they play them to perfection. I know this because I hate them. They hit the nail on the head when it comes to portraying sexist male attitudes, they drove me insane. Christina Applegate is good as the feisty Veronica Corningstone, I couldn't imagine anyone else in the role and I was on her side from the beginning. All the newsroom crew add to the gender wars and there are pop up appearances from Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn to name but a few. It's a star studded cast.

The plot is absurd but it fits in with the type of comedy that this film is aiming for. The comedy is ridiculous and the action is slapstick in nature but again all in keeping with the genre. It does what it does well- but maybe what it does just isn't for me? The film is 94 minutes long, ordinarily that is the ideal length of a film for me but the combination of poor quality, ridiculous storyline and not really enjoying the humour meant that for me it felt longer and seemed to drag.

One thing I did like was the way it was shot. The scenery, costumes, soundtrack and admittedly the attitudes of the characters made a believable 70s newsroom, it was hard to remember that it wasn't actually filmed in the 70s so in that respect it did a very good job.

In conclusion, it was an okay film. My honest opinion is that it was far too silly for me. I can see that it would be good if you enjoyed slapstick, slightly offensive humour in your movies and the glowing review it gets off the men in my life proves that it is suitable for some but for me, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it or to watch it again.