Although great in small doses, Anchorman struggles to sustain its concept through feature length.
Comment
07/09/04
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
65
%
Tomatometer
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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:10-09-2004
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
Reviews for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
121 - 140 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
I hoped for far more laughs, a sharper edge to the humor and a comedy that would attain the rank of other SNL alum works such as Caddyshack.
07/09/04
Anchorman may be uneven, but Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy is a character worth revisiting
07/09/04
An enthusiastic, harmlessly silly celebration of the empancipation of the TV newsroom.
07/09/04
This is a masterpiece of comedy, ready to be watched, re-watched, quoted and imitated for years to come.
07/09/04
Ferrell totally gets the anchorman of the 70s vibe and pulls off even the lamest lines without breaking a sweat
07/09/04
[N]inety endless minutes of some of the most stunningly incompetent filmmaking I’ve ever seen...
07/08/04
Will Ferrell headlines a great comedy cast in a story that is as ridiculous as it is hysterical.
07/08/04
It's hardly breaking news to tell you Will Ferrell's funny, but Anchorman's flights of lunacy need a little more story to keep us engaged.
07/08/04
Gags aren't allowed to develop; the characters are shuffled from location to location and from conflict to conflict without building momentum.
07/08/04
Captures the mood of a group of friends riffing, trying to make each other laugh with the most ridiculous nonsense they can think of
07/08/04
Isn't as strong as Dodgeball or Starsky and Hutch primarily because the satire inherent in these flicks isn't paid as much attention to this time around.
07/08/04
The humor of Anchorman is planted deep within a surreal 70s landscape where the jokes zing by so fast, you have zero time to ponder how out there they really are.
07/08/04
While malapropisms and anachronisms do have their places in cinematic comedy, it's very tough to make them the foundation for a story.
07/08/04
A 'Stupid Comedy' that gleefully celebrates the absurd and actually trusts its audience to be smart.
07/08/04
The whole exercise has the smug feeling of a Kevin Smith film-- a cameo dumpster that doesn't even have the wit to kill Danny Trejo.
07/08/04
This is a wobbly comedy rooted too deeply in three- or four-minute TV-style set pieces, which misfire more often than not.
07/08/04
Remember the "Spanky and Our Gang" episodes where the boys wouldn't let Darla into the treehouse? Imagine that plot in the all-white-guys world of 1970's television news.
07/08/04
It is not as maniacally uninhibited as Old School or as dementedly lovable as Elf, but its cheerful dumbness is hard to resist.
07/08/04
Top CriticIt's a flat, dull picture marked by sporadic flashes of ridiculous brilliance.
07/08/04
Latest 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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