Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Ron Burgundy is San Diego's top rated newsman in the male dominated broadcasting of the 1970's, but that's all about to change when a new female employee with ambition to burn arrives in his office.

Director:

Adam McKay

Writers:

Will Ferrell, Adam McKay

Stars:

Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd

1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Ferrell	...	Ron Burgundy
Christina Applegate	...	Veronica Corningstone
Paul Rudd	...	Brian Fantana
Steve Carell	...	Brick Tamland
David Koechner	...	Champ Kind
Fred Willard	...	Ed Harken
Chris Parnell	...	Garth Holliday
Kathryn Hahn	...	Helen
Fred Armisen	...	Tino
Seth Rogen	...	Eager Cameraman
Paul F. Tompkins	...	MC
Danny Trejo	...	Bartender
Scot Robinson	...	Waiter at Tino's
Ian Roberts	...	Stage Manager
Darcy Donavan	...	Hot Blonde

Storyline

Ron Burgundy is the top-rated anchorman in San Diego in the '70s. When feminism marches into the newsroom in the form of ambitious newswoman Veronica Corningstone, Ron is willing to play along at first-as long as Veronica stays in her place, covering cat fashion shows, cooking, and other "female" interests. But when Veronica refuses to settle for being eye candy and steps behind the news desk, it's more than a battle between two perfectly coiffed anchor-persons... it's war.

---

Plot Keywords:

anchorman | 1970s | dog | cat | sexism | 

---

Taglines:

His news is bigger than your news.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual humor, language and comic violence

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

9 July 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Action News

Filming Locations:

Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$573,025 (Australia) (22 October 2004)

Gross:

$1,492,415 (Australia) (5 November 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Apatow Productions, Herzog-Cowen Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 104 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are 23 people in the street fight.

---

Goofs

When Veronica's hands are seen marking out Ron's sign-off, the paragraph above it is completely different from what we see Ron and Veronica reporting in the next scene.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Bill Lawson: [narration] There was a time, a time before cable. When the local anchorman reigned supreme. When people believed everything they heard on TV. This was an age when only men were allowed to read the news. And in San Diego, one anchorman was more man then the rest. His name was Ron Burgundy. He was like a god walking amongst mere mortals. He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo. In other words, Ron Burgundy was the balls.

---

Crazy Credits

At the opening, there is this proclaimation: "Based on actual events. Only the people, places and events have been changed."

---

Connections

Featured in Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: Episode #17.7 (2009)

---

Soundtracks

"El Paso"
Written & Performed by Marty Robbins
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

more a pleasant parody than a biting satire

"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" takes us back to those halcyon days of the 1970's, when the hair was as big as the lapels and women were just beginning to assume their rightful place in America's television newsrooms.

Will Ferrell plays a Ted Baxter-type anchorman (is it mere coincidence that his dog is named Baxter?) - vain, narcissistic, none too gifted in the brains department - who has worked for years as the sole news dispenser at a top-rated San Diego station. All is going well for Ron Burgundy until the station manager decides the newscast needs a bit more "diversity" and hires a female reporter named Veronica Cornerstone (Christina Applegate) to come on board. Cornerstone is a brainy, blow-dried blonde with a driving ambition to be the first female anchor on network news. Since most of the men who work at the station, including Burgundy, are dyed-in-the-wool misogynists, Ms. Cornerstone faces an uphill battle of sexist comments, schoolboy pranks, and subtle (and not so subtle) undermining as she climbs her way to the top (though she is not above pulling a few dirty tricks herself to get what she wants). Things really get dicey when Burgundy and Cornerstone begin dating and quickly fall in love, a situation rife with potential disaster as Cornerstone begins to encroach on Burgundy's professional territory.

"Anchorman" is a light-hearted, enjoyable little comedy that, unlike a full-throated satire (say, like "Network"), often goes for the easy laugh instead of the incisive barb. The movie is at its best when it is parodying the corny graphics and the tendency to over hype the trivial ("Panda Watch: Day 46") that define modern newscasts - and at its worst when it is indulging in silly, often scatological jokes and slapstick throw away bits. Like most mainstream comedies, the humor in "Anchorman" ranges from the mildly funny to the downright hilarious, the latter including a clever "West Side Story" parody involving a rumble between rival news teams, and a conversation between a dog and a bear that ends the movie on a ludicrous but knee-slapping high note.

Ferrell (who co-wrote the film) is his usual manic self, unctuous but likable, and Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, and Fred Willard do fine work in supporting roles. Moreover, writer/director Adam McKay provides a smattering of guest appearances from such well known stars as Jack Black, Luke Wilson, Tim Robbins, Vince Vaughn, Jerry Stiller and even Ben Stiller, many of who are not listed in the official credits.

"Anchorman" goes down easily - a bit too easily, perhaps, for a film that, with a little more courage, might have become a scathing satire on an industry that could do with a little merciless skewering right about now. Still, "Anchorman" is fun while it lasts - and these days we'll settle for what we can get when it comes to laughs.