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Hi there, I'm That Indie Reviewer, you stay classy San Diego. Yes, the ever popular Anchorman has passed my radar and I'm determined to review it. Amassing a major cult following due to it's blend of surreal, absurd and verbal comedy, the film is considered one of the best comedy's of the past decade (not to big a deal how many good ones have actually come during this time!). It even manged to get a sequel, which I actually enjoyed more.
Starring Will Farrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and so many more, the film takes place in a 1970's News broadcaster (Which caught me by surprise, I thought it took place in the 2000's). And like most areas of occupation post 1960's woman rights activities, it is riddled with sexism and perverts with really bad hair (just don't say that to Bergundy). Introduce a little anarchy, upset the established order and everything becomes chaos. That agent of chaos is Veronica Corningstone, the first female anchor on live news.
The entire plot follows Ron, and his friends Champ, Fantana and Brick, as they try to maintain the status quo and keep women in their "Rightful place". Laced throughout is the growing rivalry between Ron and Veronica, the war between news stations and the bizarre world of the Seventies (But hell, what a decade for film). Each character has his distinctive trope, Brick being completely dense, Champ being obsessed with sports and violence, Fantana as the ultimate schmoozer and Ron essentially acting as God despite not knowing how to appropriately speak to a woman ("I like lamp"...really?). And the story progresses the same way as a python film with surreal slapstick, quotable lines and quirky characters.
When I say that each characters has his distinctive trope, I mean that the female characters written for the movie are few and bland. Instead of an equally quirky or strange female lead, we have a straight laced, no nonsense, quite standard mirror personality. She exists only for the sake of the plot and for jokes to be bounced off of. I was sitting there wishing, why don't you do something funny?, defy all the standard classifications of being the straight female and contribute. Also I found the comedy to be inconsistent within the movie. A majority of the film's comedy is verbal, with some good physical thrown in their for good measure. But then it breaks it's own protocol by throwing a bizarre scene or form of slapstick that doesn't relate to the rest of the film. It's supposed to be a challenge against the mans world of the seventies, as romanticized in film, and placed in a realistic environment where sexism and objectification are taken by no woman. Then we get the famous fight scene between news stations. Out of context, it's funny, within context, it's kind of confusing.
But this is worth the rental. All manner of quotable, strange dialog exists, along with hilarious performances by Farrell and Steve (sounds like a comedy duo!), a decent plot and interesting theme on sexism in the workplace and the power men hold. We should be open to change, we should be accepting, we should compromise for equal rights. There are so many lines to choose from and too many scene's to list. Some of my favorites include "sex panther", prank calls, credits banter and "prompter malfunction". It's worth a second, even a third viewing with friends. I'd give it 7/10 stars for its memorable and funny cast, script and slapstick.
The entire plot follows Ron, and his friends Champ, Fantana and Brick, as they try to maintain the status quo and keep women in their "Rightful place". Laced throughout is the growing rivalry between Ron and Veronica, the war between news stations and the bizarre world of the Seventies (But hell, what a decade for film). Each character has his distinctive trope, Brick being completely dense, Champ being obsessed with sports and violence, Fantana as the ultimate schmoozer and Ron essentially acting as God despite not knowing how to appropriately speak to a woman ("I like lamp"...really?). And the story progresses the same way as a python film with surreal slapstick, quotable lines and quirky characters.
When I say that each characters has his distinctive trope, I mean that the female characters written for the movie are few and bland. Instead of an equally quirky or strange female lead, we have a straight laced, no nonsense, quite standard mirror personality. She exists only for the sake of the plot and for jokes to be bounced off of. I was sitting there wishing, why don't you do something funny?, defy all the standard classifications of being the straight female and contribute. Also I found the comedy to be inconsistent within the movie. A majority of the film's comedy is verbal, with some good physical thrown in their for good measure. But then it breaks it's own protocol by throwing a bizarre scene or form of slapstick that doesn't relate to the rest of the film. It's supposed to be a challenge against the mans world of the seventies, as romanticized in film, and placed in a realistic environment where sexism and objectification are taken by no woman. Then we get the famous fight scene between news stations. Out of context, it's funny, within context, it's kind of confusing.
But this is worth the rental. All manner of quotable, strange dialog exists, along with hilarious performances by Farrell and Steve (sounds like a comedy duo!), a decent plot and interesting theme on sexism in the workplace and the power men hold. We should be open to change, we should be accepting, we should compromise for equal rights. There are so many lines to choose from and too many scene's to list. Some of my favorites include "sex panther", prank calls, credits banter and "prompter malfunction". It's worth a second, even a third viewing with friends. I'd give it 7/10 stars for its memorable and funny cast, script and slapstick.
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What did you think of the film? Please leave a comment and share, I would be much obliged. So Stay classy, all you smelly pirate hookers!
gr rv
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