Author: Andy Labis

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:35 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Let me start this review with a letter to Will Ferrell:
Dear Mr. Ferrell,

I would just like to commend you on your latest comedy, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” I found it very enjoyable and laughed a lot. Actually, you know, lately I’ve been laughing a lot at all of the movies you’ve been involved in. From your childish demeanor in “Elf,” to Frank the Tank in “Old School,” all the way back to Mustafa in the “Austin Powers” movie, you are showing that you have the versatility to bring comedy to every role you fill. In looking at your upcoming projects, at least according to IMDB, it appears that you are sticking to the comedic genre, and in my opinion, that’s good (although I am a little leery about the Woody Allen flick, but I’ll take a wait and see attitude on that right now). All I ask is one thing: Please, please, please stick to comedy. Look, down in your heart somewhere you might have this strange inkling to be a serious actor, and maybe you could be, but all I ask is please don’t pull a Jim Carrey on me like he did with “The Majestic.” You make people laugh, that’s your talent, and maybe it won’t get you a little gold statue, but you’re probably entertaining a hell of a lot more people doing what you do best than in any serious role you could fill. I mean, when was the last time a Robert Redford movie had me laugh so hard soda-pop came up my nose. Just my two cents.

Have a nice day,
The Dude on the Right

Okay, now to the review…

It’s the 70’s baby, when male chauvinism was at its peak, or at least it really seemed that way, especially because men kept treating women like the sex objects we all think they are, we just can’t act that way now because it’s not socially acceptable for a man to grab a woman’s butt and women can’t just go up and run her fingers through a man’s incredibly hairy chest on the street anymore. Anyway, enough lamenting about the old days when I was, well, approaching that impressionable age of 10. Well, for this movie we get Will Farrell as Ron Burgundy. He’s THE anchorman in San Diego, the anchorman all of the ladies love, yet he can’t really find love. But popularity is his game, and he holds that over the rest of the San Diego anchors like it’s a gold medal at the Olympics. But enter Veronica (Christina Applegate – looking just as great as ever). Her dream is to be a network anchor, something that in those days seemed like a total impossibility. She’s relegated to field reporting, things like an animal beauty pageant, and can’t stand it, but knows maybe someday, if she works hard enough, she might get her shot. But Ron is smitten with Veronica, and they begin an office romance destined for destruction. Now it’s war, with Ron and his anchor buddies set on bringing Veronica down, mostly because all of them feel threatened.

You know what, enough of the story synopsis. Will Ron and Veronica make nice, and will Veronica eventually become a network anchor? Will Brick (Steve Carell) say something that remotely makes sense, and will Jack Black be targeted by the ASPCA? All of these questions and more will be answered.

But is the movie funny? Hell yes, especially if Will Ferrell has ever made you laugh in any other movie. You get a wonderful cast of characters, especially Ron’s fellow newsmen, and some people complain about Fred Willard being wasted in his role as the boss, but I found him perfect, especially talking to the nun over the phone. If the trailer made you laugh, you’ll probably really like this movie, especially if you like a good boner joke, but if you just don’t get the humor of Ron doing a cannonball into the pool, stay away. It’s 4 ½ stars out of 5 for “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!