Reviews & Ratings for
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Ron Burgundy is the famous anchorman for a local San Diego television station, fictional KVWN channel 4. He works alongside his friends, whom he had known since childhood, on the news team: lead field reporter Brian Fantana, sportscaster Champ Kind, and meteorologist Brick Tamland. Station director Ed Harken informs the team that they have retained their long-held status as the highest-rated news program in San Diego, leading them to throw a wild party, where Burgundy unsuccessfully attempts to pick up a beautiful blonde woman, Veronica Corningstone. Harken later informs the team that they have been forced to hire Corningstone. After a series of unsuccessful attempts by the team to seduce her, she finally relents and agrees to a "professional tour" of the city with Ron, culminating in a sexual relationship. Despite agreeing to keep the relationship discreet, Ron announces it on air.

After a dispute with a motorcyclist ends in Burgundy's dog Baxter being punted off the San Diego–Coronado Bridge, Burgundy is late to work. Corningstone fills in for him on-air, receiving higher ratings than Burgundy usually receives, and the couple breaks up when Ron bemoans her success. Corningstone is promoted to co-anchor, to the disgust of the team. The co-anchors become fierce rivals off-air while maintaining a phony cordiality on-air. Depressed, the news team decides to buy new suits, but Brick, who was leading the way, gets them lost in a shady part of town. Confronted by main competitor Wes Mantooth and his news team, Burgundy challenges them to a fight. When several other news teams converge onsite, a full-on melee ensues, only to be broken up by police sirens that cause them to flee. Realizing that having a female co-anchor is straining their reputation, Burgundy gets in another heated argument with Veronica, and they get in a physical fight after she offends him about his hair.

One of Veronica's co-workers informs her that Burgundy will read anything written on the teleprompter, so she sneaks into the station and changes the text in revenge. The next day, Burgundy (unaware of what he is saying) concludes the broadcast with "Go fuck yourself, San Diego!", instead of his signature closing line, "You stay classy, San Diego!", triggering an angry mob outside the studio and prompting Ed to fire Burgundy. Realizing she went too far, Corningstone attempts to apologize but Burgundy angrily dismisses her apology. Burgundy soon becomes unemployed, friendless, and heavily antagonized by the public while Veronica enjoys fame, although her male co-workers hate her. Ed also informs Brian, Champ and Brick that if they see Ron, he will fire them if they talk to him.

Three months later, when a panda is about to give birth, every news team in San Diego rushes to the zoo to cover the story. In an attempt to sabotage her, a rival news anchor pushes Corningstone into a Kodiak bear enclosure. When Ed is unable to locate Veronica, he recruits Burgundy. Once at the zoo, Burgundy jumps in the bear pen to save Veronica, as the public watches helplessly. The news team then jumps in to save Ron and Veronica. Just as a bear is about to attack, Baxter, who miraculously survived, intervenes and encourages the bear to spare them. As the group climbs out of the pit, Wes appears and holds the ladder over the bear pit, threatening to drop Ron back in, and says that deep down he has always hated him, but then admits to Ron that he also respects him and pulls Ron out to safety.

After Burgundy and Corningstone reconcile, it is shown that in years to come, Fantana becomes the host of a Fox reality show named Intercourse Island, Tamland is married with 11 children and is a top political adviser to George W. Bush, Kind is a commentator for the NFL before getting fired after being accused by Terry Bradshaw of sexual harassment, and Burgundy and Corningstone are co-anchors for the CNN-esque World News Center.

Anchorman is a film co-written and directed by Adam McKay. This film just happen to come on my radar and I decided just to give it a shot. And at the end, I can say that this film was an enjoyable ride.

Plot: The KVWM channel hires a female news reporter much to everyone's dismay.

Story and direction: This is mostly a spoof on the news channels during the 70's. Although taking place during that era, mist of it is still applicable in today's world and the case is just not only for news. It is for any field of work. The title of the film is like that of a superhero, considering the films is about news anchors. I remember laughing throughout the entire film with no rest. I liked the way issues like sexual harassment, looking down upon women employees, etc.. were handled with comedy in this film. The film doesn't go below the belt, which is commendable. Also the characters have so much diversity, that you instantly fall in love with them. The 1970's was also beautifully depicted by the production design and costume team. A salute from my side to Will Ferrell and Adam McKay for succesfully introducing us to this world of Anchormen and Anchorwomen. My only issue with this film would be that sometimes the film goes over-the-top and the climax tended to cross the boundaries of reality.

Performances: Will Ferrell deserves a standing ovation. He was born to do the role of Ron Burgundy. Christina Applegate was also perfect as a choice for Veronica. Paul Rudd and David Koechner were also excellent in their role. A special mention to Steve Carrell. This man is so talented!!!! Vince Vaughn was also great as the rival channel reporters. It's always a treat to see Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Seth Rogen. Although they had nothing much substantial to do, they were good in what was given to them.

Favorite Scene: It would be the fight sequence between all the channels taking place and Burgundy keeping a condition that no harm must be caused to the face and hair (considering how important are those for any person appearing in the entertainment media). I laughed so much during that fight.

Verdict: Although over-the-top at times, Anchorman still is quite an entertaining film. I assure you that you won't be bored. If you want to watch something light, you can watch it. It's worth your time.

I am going with an 8/10.

The fantastic comedian Will Ferrel makes us want to watch this movie already. This movie can easily be considered as a classic in the genre of comedy. The characters are well-designed and the twisted character of Brick gives a very different edge to the movie.
The movie takes up the movement of feminism very cleverly and also the fact that news channels do not always serve their purpose. This combination is an interesting one. The protagonist Ron Burgundy is not someone we would actually like to see winning in life; yet he is the hero of the movie and we see his success and how the industry works- The one who is always diverted from the point and discriminates on many levels is the one that wins. Still, the comedy keeps it's name of being a comedy by not over-powering the sense of these satires; sometimes the audience just wants a good laugh!