Year of Release: 2004
Director: Adam McKay
Screenplay: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, David Koechner
San Diego, the 1970s. In the cut-throat world of local television news, the winners are definitely the top-rated Channel 4 News Team: Sports reporter Champ Kind (Koechner), roving reporter Brian Fantana (Rudd), weatherman Brick Tamland (Carrell) and their leader anchorman Ron Burgundy (Ferrell). They are trusted, respected and beloved by the entire city. However their cozy male-dominated world is threatened by the arrival of ambitious reporter Veronica Corningstone (Applegate). After the whole gang make several inept attempts to seduce her, Veronica soon strikes up a relationship with Ron. however he is shocked when she reveals her plans to become a network anchor, not least by the fact that she is probably better at it than he is.
The film is constantly entertaining and most of the time it is extremely funny with many laugh out loud moments. Ferrell turns in a fantastic comic performance as the deluded, chauvinistic Ron Burgundy, who always manages to make a potentially horrible character sympathetic and kind of likable. The rest of the cast deliver pitch-perfect performances and there is brilliant rapport among them all. The script is well-written and funny and packed with memorable, quotable dialogue. Also it all looks very stylish, providing a fun take on the world of local TV news in the 70s. It may not be a masterpiece but there is plenty to enjoy and it holds up well to repeat viewings.
Deleted scenes and alternate takes from the movie were re-edited into a separate direct-to-DVD film called Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie (2004). A sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, was released in 2013.
