Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy

By Simon Woodhouse

Despite heavy marketing campaigns, some really good films seem to slip by unnoticed. Or maybe they come out at the wrong time, when the people involved aren't quite well known enough, and therefore don't have the clout to create any real buzz. It's easy to see these sorts of films as failures, but they're not. They're slow burners, movies that need more word of mouth than slick ad campaigns. But when they do find an audience, it'll be a loyal one. Being told a film is great by a marketing men isn't anything like as satisfying as 'discovering' it for yourself.

I had this experience with Anchorman. I'd heard of it, had a vague idea it was a comedy, but that was all. Then during an excruciatingly long long-haul flight, I watched it on the tiny TV in the back of the seat in front of me. Now I'm a fan, and it's become one of my favorite funny films.

Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is a news anchorman for a cable TV station in San Diego. It's the 70s, and so women's lib is starting to gather momentum, but not in the world of cable TV news. Ron and his broadcasting buddies - Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Champ Kind (David Koecher) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) rule the roost at KVWN San Diego. They're a bunch of hard-partying, small-brained, generally harmless, male chauvinist pigs. Then one day their boss, Ed Harken (Fred Willard), introduces a new member of the team - Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate). And so the scene is set for a battle of the sexes, with Ron and his none-too-clever pals on one side, and the sharp-as-a-tack Veronica on the other.

Comedies don't really need much in the way of a plot, and Anchorman is no different. It's a series of skits linked together by a simple storyline that acts as a vehicle for the jokes. What Anchorman has that lesser comedies don't, is a well-defined cast of fresh characters, none of which are a weak link in the chain. Brian Fantana is the roving reporter who thinks he's a bit of a ladies man. He specializes in collecting musk (his favorite being Sex Panther) and has names for his genitalia. Champ Kind mans the sports desk, and he's all about having what he calls fun - 'setting fire to someone's kitchen, going to Sea World and taking his pants off'. Brick Tamland, the weatherman, has an IQ of forty, and finds out later on in life that he is in fact 'mentally retarded'. A cast of characters such as these means the comedy is often surreal, but always funny. Odd moments include a street fight between Ron and co., and presenters from rival a TV station, during which Brick gets hold of a hand grenade and kills someone with a spear. Likewise, Ron's jazz flute recital is also pretty bizarre (but very funny).

Anyway, as the film rolls on, Ron gets over his initial dislike of Veronica and they start to date. But the course of true love never runs smooth, so they become rivals again. This reaches a peak when Veronica learns Ron will say anything that appears on the auto-cue. She fiddles with his lines so they include the F word, he says it live on air and is promptly fired. Shunned by the residents of San Diego, he takes to wandering the streets like a bum. Then Veronica is made lead anchor, and Ron's world totally falls a part.

Though as a character he's a bit of a chauvinist, it's difficult not to like Ron. And the same goes for the rest of his crew. I think this is part of what makes the film so good. All the characters, despite their obvious flaws, have a cheeky, school boy-ish quality about them. They're just big kids. Veronica, on the other hand, is the only sane, level-headed member of the news team. She's also got a sort of strict, matronly air about her, especially when she's having to deal with Ron and Champ's crank phone calls.

Being a comedy, the movie ends on a happy note. And it's one of those rare things in Hollywood - a film that actually deserves a sequel. There's certainly plenty of life left in the characters, to the point where the movie leaves you wanting more. The surreal, non-threatening nature of the humor has a sort of feel good factor about it. You want Ron to succeed, because he's such a harmless dope. Box office-wise the film did quite well, but only in the US. On a worldwide scale it only (only!) made $5m. If it were released today, I'm sure it would do a lot better. Will Ferrel's profile is such now that a film with his name attached to it attracts attention, which outside of the US wasn't the case with Anchorman. I can imagine this film going on to become a cult classic, and one that'll find a new audience every few years - it certainly deserves it.