Thomas

You've been singing the praises for this one for a long time - I have to ask if it was a disappointment? And was it funnier than Napoleon Dynamite?

Adam

Thomas,

Hi there. Well, I have to admit, I was quite excited about this movie, perhaps too excited. As you probably know, I'm a huge Ferrell fan. Anchorman wasn't non-stop hilarity, but it was still damn funny, so no--I wouldn't call it a disappointment. Did I like it more than Napoleon Dynamite? That's a tough call. As you'll notice, I gave them both a B+. They're both compeltely different in terms of comical rhythm. Napoleon is more deadpan while Anchorman is on the slapstick side. Simply put, I'd say go see them both. Anchorman and Napoleon Dynamite made me laugh for completely different reasons, but they both made me laugh. That's all I want out of a comedy.

William Stillman

If you already worship at the Temple of Ferrell, you should like Anchorman, because this film showcases your icon the way comedies of the 1950s enshrined Jerry Lewis. But if you think "Elf" was a fluke, and that Ferrell is usually funniest in 10-minute bits, "Anchorman" will also bolster that belief. Like most of the movies starring "Saturday Night Live" alums, it feels like an extended sketch from that program.

Blacktop

To those like Mr, Mast who think Farrell is the savior of comedy - I just wanted to point out that Farrell has two running bits of shtick. One is to have an exaggerated reaction to all events, happy or sad: He yowls like a starving coyote, weeps like a waterfall, shouts exclamations such as "By great Zeus' beard!" The other is to adopt the look of a besotted teddy bear and say words such as "boobies" or "heinie," rolling his eyes to suggest he doesn't really understand them. Stiller is dead, the Wilsons dying which leaves one man standing proudly at the top of the comedy heap - that man. King Jack!!!!!!!!

Patricia Whitehead

It's true that Anchorman is a broad comedy, but they must have little respect for the intellect of it's audience. This film expects us to believe not only that Ferrell's character has won five Emmys for anchoring a San Diego news team, but that new arrival (Christina Applegate) would love him. She's written as the kind of character who's sharp enough to lead a team of reporters, yet dumb enough to fall for pompous Ron on their first date - shortly after she has dismissed him as a repulsive, pathetic letch! Does broad comedy mean that all broads are that laughable?

Rich Trawlinger

You mentioned that Napoleon dynamite is a one-note comedy, I certainly hope it's better than Anchorman- a movie that hammers away at the same comedic notes like an 8-year-old pounding out "Chopsticks" on a parlor piano.

Michael Day

To all of the sphincters who posted below I have only this to say - did you think Anchorman was going to be Annie Hall? Yes this film is a 90 minute SNL sketch, but it works because Farrell can carry it. The film is getting very mixed reviews and in my opinion the critics were gunning for Farrell, which is just stupid. When we get someone that makes us laugh, like Sandler, let's just pat them on the back, tell them nice job and have them get out there and do it again. Good hell, lighten up.

Brenda Christian

"SNL" inspired comedies usually rely on great cameos to pick up a flagging pace. And we get plenty of comedy insurance in Anchorman - Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Tim Robbins in a curly fright wig, Jack Black as a raging biker (very funny) and Ben Stiller, who is required by California statute 45:78-B to be cast in any comedy starring an actor between the ages of 30 and 45. Old pro Fred Willard, his exasperatedly cheerful face as deadpan as ever, is superb as the station manager who asks a nun how familiar she is with European pornography. I can't help but feel that a funny movie was waiting to be unearthed amid all this self-congratulation and juvenile prankishness. But it needed a firmer director and more tightly constructed script, which "Elf" had. Instead, we get Will Ferrell ad-libbing material like this: "The city was discovered by the Germans in 1904. They named it 'San Diego,' which means 'a whale's vagina.'." That's not funny, even on the second time he says it. But who's going to tell a god of comedy his lightning bolts don't work?

Go Adam

This movie had me rolling, I came in expecting this to be kind of a Bill Brasky fest and that's what I got. I went home happy, because I wasn't expecting Casablanca like some of your readers obviously were.

Richard Wells

Brasky

Anchorman proves once and for all that Ferrell is a great comedic actor, and he's wise enough to surround himself with a strong cast, while generously giving them all a chance to get some laughs themselves. He is at his best as Burgundy's life unravels, which shows us Ferrell understands how to build up a character, spot the vulnerabilities, and exploit them for all their worth. He could be a great dramatic actor if given the chance.

Clarissa Banks

Will Ferrell is bigger than God right now, so it's only natural that he satirize another group of people who think they are bigger than God - television news anchors and reporters In Elf, Ferrell proved that he is a master of the absurd, and takes advantage of that talent by giving Anchorman's Burgundy an undeserved pomposity and fragile ego. As writer and actor, he shows us how his and other characters who are so well known and popular are truly empty and lonely on the inside. No matter how rude or arrogant, you know each character will get his comeuppance, which provides the gang with plenty of chances to make us laugh, and that's what counts. Adam is correct there are laughs galore.

Still?

I swear to God - I could go the rest of my life without seeing Ben Stiller on the big screen. He needs to be stopped!

Misty Morgan

"ANCHORMAN" is wonderfully silly all the time. You may not laugh as hard as you want to, but the movie is irresistible and mostly hilarious, even though much of it is obviously improvised. Will Farrell is the funniest man alive.

Lauren

I saw Anchorman about 3 weeks ago and every time I think about it I laugh even harder. That is definetly the funniest movie of the year!!!

Brasky

I've been following your reviews of several of the latest films and now that all the votes are in - which movie did you think was funnier, Napoleon Dynamite or Anchorman?

Adam

Brasky,

Your first name wouldn't happen to be Bill would it? Per your question, I sort of answered it earlier on in the thread, but I suppose you want me to choose between Anchorman and Napoleon Dynamite. Well, I love them both but I think Napoleon Dynamite was probably more consistent in terms of the laugh factor. So there you go. But please! Do yourself a favor and see both. By the way, to further complicate matters, I recently saw a screening of a new comedy/horror film called Shaun of the Dead down at Comic-Con in San Diego. I'd rank it among the funniest movies of the year as well, and at present, I'm trying to line up a screening of it for our Halloween Festival. I'll have that review up soon. On the horizon, we have Team America from Matt Stone and Trey Parker (those wacky South Park creators). I've seen footage from the film (it's done entirely with Thunderbirds style puppets) and it was an absolute riot. Yes, this is shaping up to be a pretty good year for comedies.

Trooper

There is a new comedy troupe hitting the American screen and I seem to go to all of their movies. Of course, when this troupe includes Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and the Wilson brothers, it's easy to pony up the dough to go to the theater for a matinee. Anchorman shares all the characteristics of this troupe's films: a loose gag-a-minute plotting based on sketch comedy; a film populated by lovable losers; a sense of humor that is rarely "smart" but which is often downright absurd, if not out and out surreal, and frequently hilarious (i.e. the throwdown between the news teams that devolves into gladiatorial combat, the jazz flute solo). Not exactly a must see, but a good way to pass the time.

Not Farr

I thought this movie was pretty horrible. And people that automatically like a movie just because Will Ferrell is in it are obviously cretins. He stopped being funny a long time ago -- Old School was just a fluke. Overall, I'd say that without that guy from The Daily Show who was mentally retarded, I would have killed everyone in the theater who laughed at Ferrell's infantile smarmy crap!

Adam

Not Farr,

Such hostility! Oh well, as I always say--To each his/her own. Anchorman was silly but pretty damn funny. And for the record, Old School was no fluke. Elf was pretty good too. As for you wanting to kill everyone in the theater that laughed at Will, all I can suggest is a little therapy. Either that, or stay away from Will Ferrell movies!

P.S. I am no cretin! I just like a good laugh, and Will and crew provided plenty of them.

Will Farrell teams with Ephron?

After much speculation, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman has officially signed a pay-or play deal with Columbia Pictures to star with Will Ferrell in a big screen adaptation of the Emmy-winning television series Bewitched. Nora Ephron is helming the adaptation of the classic 1960's series, with Red Wagon partners Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher producing. Ephron also adapted the story about a mere mortal man, Darrin (Ferrell), who falls in love with and marries a beautiful and friendly witch, Samantha (Kidman). The original series starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha and both Dick York and Dick Sargent as Darrin. Ephron's feature is scheduled to begin shooting this summer. Since Ephron is such a script-oriented Director I can only assume that there is going to be some wrangling on the set when she tried to keep Farrell's eyes on the page

Adam

Hi everyone. The last post brought up the Bewitched movie that's about to start shooting. Nicole Kidman has been attached for quite sometime, but the picture has gone through a few actors who were at one time or another slated to play Darren. Jim Carrey was one of the names mentioned. Will Farrell will be playing the role, but a buddy/colleague of mine came up with an genius idea; Why not have two different actors play the role. Midway through the picture, Samantha and Darren could go to bed, and when they wake up, a different actor could be lying in bed with her. What a brilliant concept. Bewitched--starring Nicole Kidman as Samantha, and Will Farrell and Jim Carrey as Darren!

Bonnie Prince Willy

Anchorman will one day be looked upon as a epic comic masterpiece, I've watched it repeatedly and it just keeps getting funnier. Ferrell is a genious and 'Anchorman turns him loose to just do his thing. With so much improv going on, I think it will one day reach the cult status of Spinal Tap.

Pat

The 1970s were a different time than that of today in more ways than one. Women's lib had just begun and changes were in the air. But for some these changes are unwelcome and seen as a crime for those who would like to see things stay the same. That is how we find ourselves in San Diego, at a local television station where all the people who tell the news are of the male gender. Their leader and anchorman is Ron Burgundy, who thinks himself God's gift to the ladies and is the area's most respected reader of the teleprompter of the news fit to be known, but this is all about to change as the traditional roles of telling the news are about to be challenged. The television station trying to be more diverse has hired an ambitious female newscaster Veronica who, unlike Ron, actually knows something about journalism. Ron is torn between sticking to his traditional views or embracing a new world because while he wants the news to stay male dominated he is also very attracted by Veronica. So he finds himself trying to start a relationship with the attractive journalist all the while trying to convince his friends that the relationship is nothing more than his latest fling and notch on his bedpost. But this may prove to be more difficult than he can handle as Veronica is smarter than him not to mention the better reporter and journalist and the world is ready for a change.

First off I did like the movie, despite not being that big a fan of Will Ferrell's comedy styling. Ferrell has a more subtle and tame style of comedy that sometimes is just lost on me. For those who like him, they will absolutely love the movie and for those that aren't fans of him they will be at least pleased with the movie and find it entertaining. I can admit that sometimes I don't get the humor in Ferrell's movies but at the same time be open to any comedic performance he does as he is quite a gifted actor and can be downright funny at times. I didn't enjoy the movie as much as I did Elf but that wasn't Ferrell's fault but more of the screenwriters as they really didn't have enough story to flesh out a feature length film at times. I appreciated the fact that the movie took a trend back to the pre-gross out humor days as the movie never had to resort to cheap laughs to be funny. And to me that is a thumbs up right there in itself, as they had to be creative enough to be constantly funny without resorting to potty humor. One of the most ironic things in the movie for me was Ben Stiller's cameo as he was genuinely funny and that can easily be contributed to the lack of potty humor his staple. I like Will Ferrell, I like his movies which for the most part are very funny, and Anchorman did not let me down in any way. While it may not be the most memorable of films except for the Will Ferrell fans it is still a funny, entertaining movie that will keep you laughing and glad you came to see the movie.