While the film is sporadically funny, it was done much better on the small screen, decades ago.
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07/09/04
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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
65
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Reviews Counted:186
Fresh:120
Rotten:66
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: It's a one-joke premise, but the movie is amiably dumb, and there are scenes of inspired goofiness.
Theatrical Release:Jul 9, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $84,136,909
Synopsis: Will Ferrell ("Elf," "Old School") stars as Ron Burgundy, the top-rated anchorman in San Diego in the ‘70s. When feminism marches into the newsroom in the form of ambitious newswoman Veronica... [More]
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, David Koechner
Director: Adam McKay
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Reviews for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
A comic idea that never finds the comic wellspring or anything resembling a sure source for laughs.
07/09/04
Top CriticThe laughs arrive on stale crackers of the easy, breezy and familiar.
07/09/04
There isn't a second that goes by without Ferrell filling it with some form of comic shtick - a well-turned punch line, a goofy facial expression, a pratfall or some other kind of physical comedy business.
07/09/04
A mighty silly send-up of a mighty silly era.
07/09/04
The SNL veteran's willingness to do anything for a laugh, no matter how humiliating or juvenile, keeps the laughs flowing pretty steadily in this fast paced send up of seventies era news anchors in all their blown dry, polyester glory.
07/09/04
Add it all up, and you get something that often meets the standard of being funny. Whether it meets the standard of being a movie is another question.
07/09/04
Most of it isn't even as funny as those supposedly humorous features that local news broadcasts sometimes end with.
07/09/04
Nothing more than an extended skit, and a lame one at that.
07/09/04
The celluloid equivalent of a throwaway summer pop anthem, the sort of catchy-yet-agitating tune that has you humming in spite of yourself.
07/09/04
Top CriticFerrell is funny spouting his weird stream-of-consciousness rants, but too often the plot leaves him hanging and he resorts to just Yelling Really Loud.
07/09/04
As much credit as Ferrell deserves for keeping this nonsense from slipping off the screen, Applegate deserves as well.
07/09/04
Top CriticThe desperate and frantic slapstick of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is closer to hysteria than hysterical.
07/09/04
What takes the whole thing pleasurably over the top, turning a goof into a total gas, is the film's pitch-perfect absurdist comedy and warmth.
07/09/04
You're just left wishing that Tina Fey had lent a helping hand -- or that they'd wheeled in some old hands from the real '70s newsroom gender comedy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
07/09/04
Ferrell makes this a movie worth your money, and you'll leave the theater laughing.
07/09/04
It's one of those movies where every good joke is in the trailer, which was a hilarious two-minute spot that promised so much more than this sloppy, lazy effort manages to deliver.
07/09/04
With the ability to throw all caution -- and sometimes all clothes -- to the wind, Ferrell has that unique ability to be both funny and vulnerable at the same time, a quality that makes him hard not to like.
07/09/04
Anchorman would qualify as great popcorn entertainment, except that the popcorn will become a choking hazard because you'll be guffawing so much.
07/09/04
Overly broad humor with little on its mind.
07/09/04
Top CriticLatest News for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
June 02, 2009:
Will Ferrell Talks Land of the Lost
Ahead of the release of the comedy-adventure Land of the Lost -- a big-screen adaptation of Sid and Marty Kroft's psychedelic TV series from the '70s -- Rotten Tomatoes got the... More...
May 27, 2009:
Will Ferrell Talks Anchorman Sequel 
Hope you've been staying classy, San Diego -- Will Ferrell says discussions for an "Anchorman" sequel are taking place. More...
July 25, 2008:
Weekly Ketchup: Anchorman 2, Dracula: Year Zero, Twilight Zone and Much More
In this week's Weekly Ketchup we've got the latest on plenty of remakes and sequels coming your way. Plus, check back Monday for an extra special edition of the Ketchup, in... More...
June 06, 2008:
Steve Carell Would Totally Make Anchorman 2
Steve Carell has told MTV that he has "some inklings" about what Adam McKay has in mind for Anchorman 2, and he's "absolutely" interested in coming back for the sequel. More...
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