Set against the male-dominant backdrop of 1970's newsrooms, the news anchor god Ron Burgundy reigns supreme. This ultra-macho, scotch-drinking chauvinist with a Ron Jeremy mustache holds Los Angeles by the scrotum, giving them the news they are too lazy to get anywhere else. The only word I can think of which best describes him is dunderhead. Supported by his team of dunderhead colleagues, Ron Burgundy sits in the #1 spot in the ratings.
His world falls apart when that ugly word "diversity" rears its ugly head and a blonde, bodacious, female reporter is added to the team. What the hell are boobs doing in the newsroom?! I know. I get it. But there you have it. Ron must battle to keep his place as lead anchor when faced with the might of newcomer Veronica Corningstone, while at the same time keeping his libido in check.
Will Ferrell gives a typical, Will Ferrelly performance as the clueless egotist, and he is backed seemingly by every comedian that has ever made a bro-movie: Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, all of whom I found troublingly unfunny. The best of the bunch was Christina Applegate as Veronica, and the shame of it all is that I think she was meant to be the laughless one of the bunch.
Here's the deal. Ferrell and Adam McKay's script is filled full of silly one-liners, most of which are great, some of which are brilliant. But they are incredibly over the top, occasionally so ridiculous you have to throw your hands up, roll your eyes and say "What the hell am I watching?" That's all well and good. And least this movie, unlike so many other comedies at the moment, has a structure actually worth an hour and a half of your time.
Where the whole thing goes south is in the performances which try to outdo the dialogue, and in doing so create something that discards any shred of believability. Either have big performances saying wry, subtle lines, or have your characters deliver outrageous dialogue as deadpan as possible. The juxtaposition is where the humor is. The good comedian is the one who knows how to spot the abnormal in the ordinary, not the one who minces about in front of an audience, yelling and waving his junk in the air.
The funniest bits of the entire film were the opening sequence which was obviously entirely improvised by Ferrell, and the bloopers at the end. When the outtakes tickle me more than the final cut there has to be a problem somewhere. One of the more notable scenes is a giant battle between all the rivaling news stations, each equipped with maces, tridents, horses, giant clubs and a whole slew of other medieval weaponry, which they use to beat each other into submission. At the end of it Ron remarks "Boy, that escalated quickly...I mean that really got out of hand fast." I think that quote pretty much sums up the whole damn thing.
Sometimes I think my pedestal has been built too high and that I have a case of being a cynical asshole. But then I think that 99.999 % of what we watch isn't much better than a 90 minute Punch and Judy sketch, and then I feel better. Mediocre people get to make mediocre movies all the time, and on rare occasion I just need to grit my teeth and force a smile.
2/4
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