Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy DVD Review:

In the 1970s on man was the face of San Diego News, he was Ron Burgundy (Ferrell). Along with his crack team, roving reporter Brian Fantana (Rudd), sportscaster Champ Kind (Koechner) and weatherman Brick Tamland (Carell), Burgundy ruled the airwaves but this was all about to change. Veronica Corningstone (Applegate) has just transferred to the station with one goal, to become the first female news anchor.

Billed as one of the next big thing in comedy, Hollywood has high hopes for Will Ferrell but can his talent live up to the hype? As Ron Burgundy the answer is yes.

After a number of scene stealing smaller roles and cameos in movies like Old School, Starsky and Hutch, Zoolander and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the ex-Saturday Night Live star got his leading man break with the Christmas movie smash Elf and took that first step into comedy history. With Anchorman he takes another big step by creating a fun, surreal and extremely silly comedy that you just can’t help laughing at.

Filled with nostalgic references to a very different time, Anchorman takes the sexism and male dominated 70s and pushes the humour to the maximum. Here we see what happens when women start to make waves in the newsroom as Ron and his team react to Veronica’s arrival. She goes from sex object, to lover and then to bitter rival all in the space of the movie as Ron tries to come to terms with his feelings and his duty to deliver the news. This confrontation works so well because of the comedic talents of Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate.

Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy is an instant classic comedy character. Filled to the brim with confidence and his own self-importance, Burgundy’s world is thrown into torment when he sets eyes on Veronica. It is Ferrell’s undeniable talent that brings the character to life, making him instantly likeable and extremely funny. Christina Applegate plays the straight girl to Ferrell’s manic creation, as she tries to bring in female sensibility in a childish, male environment but this doesn’t stop her character providing many a laugh. Applegate is a real comedic talent and this should push her into contention for more high profile roles.

An excellent supporting cast and some marvellous cameos backs up the leading pair. Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner excel as Brian Fantana, Brick Tamland and Champ Kind, the key players in Burgundy’s news team. Rudd is excellent as the self-proclaimed ladies man and king of cologne Brian Fantana, as David Koechner as sportscaster Champ Kind, who is a little too infatuated with Ron. Steve Carell almost steals the show as Brick Tamland, the mentally challenged weatherman who has some of the best one-liners in the film. Also keep your eyes open for the numerous star cameos, especially during the hilarious News Team battle sequence.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a very funny movie that hits a lot more times than it misses. While Ferrell and his team might not push the subject as far as it could have gone by selecting not to go too far with the sexism of the era, there are still plenty of laughs to keep everyone amused. The lead story is that Will Ferrell is living up to his own hype and that is good news for comedy fans.

Star Rating = * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is very good, as you’d expect from a modern movie. The 70s style and exuberant colours are vividly brought to life with an extremely sharp picture. The sound is also very good, especially during the hilarious song and dance numbers.

BONUS FEATURES

Feature Commentary with Adam McKay, Will Farrell, Lou Rawls, Andy Richter, Kyle Glass, Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Christina Applegate

This is the funniest commentary track ever to accompany a movie. The first ten minutes really set the tone with director Adam McKay and Will Farrell just talking about their lives and not even mentioning the movie, of course nothing they say is true but his only added to the hilarity. You have guest stars Lou Rawls (who had nothing to do with the movie but Adam and Will just wanted to talk to him), Andy Richter and Kyle Glass (Who came in to complain that they didn’t get parts in the movie) and stars Paul Rudd and Christina Applegate ringing up to complain that they have not been including in the commentary. This is inspired and really makes the track a must listen.

Bloopers (7.36 mins)

Filled with Will Farrell’s brilliant improvisations and the cast mucking up their lines and basically cracking up, this is a very funny collection of gaffs and goofs.

The Making of Anchorman (9.30 mins)
Writer/Director Adam McKay, producer Judd Apatow and stars Will Farrell, Paul Rudd, Fred Willard and Christina Applegate take you behind the scenes of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. With audition, rehearsal and outtakes footage, the cast and crew talk about the origins of the story and the creation of the characters.

‘Afternoon Delight’ Music Video (3.51 mins)

The cast enchant you with their hilarious rendition of ‘Afternoon Delight’

Deleted Scenes (27.22 mins)

Entitled ‘Team Intros Alt.’, ‘Ron & Baxter’, ‘Veronica Intro’, ‘Veronica’s Past’, ‘Brick’s love’, ‘This is Bad’, ‘Scat Man Ron’, ‘Love Panda’, ‘That’s how I roll’, ‘They punted Baxter’, ‘Ron’s Dad’, ‘Baxter’s memorial service’, ‘I love you’, ‘Harken’s wisdom’, ‘Secret admirer’, ‘Brick’s Panda report’, ‘Little brother’, ‘Doug or Glen’, ‘Bill Kurtis Rules’, ‘Vitchard’s revenge’ and ‘Ron’s destiny’, many of these deleted scenes could have easily made it back into the film but without a commentary track or introduction, we don’t get to find out why they were cut.

Trailer

A preview of Meet the Fockers

OVERALL

While Region 2 fans don’t get the ‘Unrated version’ that was released in North America, there is still enough here for fans to rejoice in. The commentary track alone makes this a must buy for fans but the ‘Afternoon Delight’ video and the deleted scenes only add to the hilarity. This is a well-packaged DVD that is a must buy for fans and a very good rent for everyone else.

DVD Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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