Film Challenge Week 14: A film that’s been memed
Film: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Genre: Comedy
Watched on: Netflix
90s kids were blessed with cult classics such as White Chicks and Mean Girls, both of which were released the same year as Anchorman – 2004. Although I can quote 80% of White Chicks and Mean Girls, I had never watched Anchorman till the year of our lord 2025.
The stars aligned when I was looking for a film that fit this prompt, and Anchorman was on the NYT's 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century list. It felt serendipitous, two birds one stone, you know?
Not only is Anchorman ranked on the NYT list, but it also made it to multiple "best ofs" list. In no particular order: Bravo's 100 funniest movies, Time Out's top 100 comedy films of all time, Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, and Rolling Stone's 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century. Adam McKay, who directed Don't Look Up, made his directorial debut with Anchorman. I loved Don't Look Up and think about it regularly as we face the effects of the climate crisis daily. The satirical nature of Don't Look Up hit a little too close to home.
With the never-ending memes and critical acclaim, I had hopes going into the film, but it fell flat for me.
Anchorman satirizes the 70s media culture where the patriarchy held strong. We meet the team of KVWN Channel 4, which consists of a pretty stacked cast with Will Ferrell as the famous anchorman Ron Burgundy, Paul Rudd as lead field reporter Brian Fantana, David Koechner as sportscaster Champ Kind, and Steve Carell as meteorologist Brick Tamland. The boys' club newsroom is shaken up when Veronica Corningstone, played by Christina Applegate, joins the team.
Immediately, the four of them start harassing her in the workplace in their disgusting attempt to "seduce" her. As she turns them down one by one, Ron suggests a tour of the city to familiarize her with San Diego, which ultimately results in them having a sexual relationship??? I thought it was a dream sequence, but unfortunately, it was real. Even though they agreed to keep their blossoming relationship on the down low, blabbermouth Ron announces on air that they're sleeping together.
Girl, the red flags were glaringly bright!!
One day, as Ron is on the way to work, a fight with Jack Black ensues, which results in him kicking Ron's dog off a bridge. With Ron being late for work due to the traumatizing situation of seeing his beloved pet kicked off a bridge, Veronica fills in for him as the lead anchor. Her time on air brings in high ratings, so naturally, she is promoted as co-anchor, which angers Ron.
Their relationship quickly sours, and the entire team is aggressively mean towards her.
There's a whole ridiculous battle scene between the other stations news team that was overwhelmingly outlandish at some point. The torment continues until a coworker informs Veronica that Ron will read anything on the teleprompter. So to get back at Ron, she changes his sign-off text on the teleprompter to "Go fuck yourself, San Diego!" instead of the regular "You stay classy, San Diego!" This angers the people of San Diego, so Ron is ultimately fired.
As Veronica is killing it at her job and enjoying her newfound fame, it is a stark contrast to Ron, who is now unemployed, friendless, and hated by the public.
The final act takes place three months later at the zoo where a panda is expected to give birth. Every news team in the city is clamoring to get the best coverage of the birth. A grimy newsanchor sabotages Veronica by pushing her into a Kodiak bear enclosure when she discovers the best angle to capture the birth. With Veronica MIA, her boss recruits Ron for whatever reason despite having 3 other team members that could do the job. He becomes the hero of the day when he spots her in the enclosure and the team fights the bears to rescue her.
The two reconcile in the end, unfortunately.
If you found this film funny, I'm not trying to yuck your yum, but the humor just wasn't it for me. I did not find any of the scenes funny as much as I went into this with an open-mind. Personally, I enjoy satires like Don't Look Up and The Studio infinitely more. It's more discreet, less low-brow.
The only fun factor for me was spotting the variety of A-list celebrities that made random appearances. For that, it was worth a watch to see how far many of them have come.
At the end of the day, I'm glad I watched this because now I understand the references to the film and at least I have an opinion of it.
I rated Anchorman 0.5 stars.
