Anchormen

As promised, here is the final piece of the Red-Ass-Burgundy Trilogy.   I imagine if Red 3, Kick-Ass 3, and Anchorman 3 are released, I could combine them all into a single blog.   Anyhow.

Anchorman.   In sunny San Diego, California, the heretofore unchallenged dominance of the alpha male news anchor, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and his male colleagues Champ Kind (sports) (David Koechner), Brian Fontana (investigation) (Paul Rudd), and Brick Tamland (weather) (Steve Carrel) is rudely disturbed when a – gasp! – woman, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) joins the crew and quickly challenges Ron’s place by sheer…competence.   Fun and games ensue, including, but not limited to, a conflict with rival news team led by Vince Vaughn, the Spanish language channel (Ben Stiller), and even PBS (Tim Robbins).      

    Eventually Veronica slyly rigs Ron’s abrupt departure and subsequent descent into an abyss of self-pity, but the San Diego Zoo beckons and Ron is summoned back to do what he does best – or at least in a way no one else can.   And there was much rejoicing.  Seth Rogen is here as a PBS cameraman at the zoo scene.

Anchorman 2:  The Legend Continues.   At this time, Ron and Veronica have married, moved to NYC, and have a son, Judah.  They are both anchors at the big network.  Unfortunately, the network head, Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford, in a comedy???) promotes Veronica and fires Ron.  Of course, Ron’s ego can’t handle that, so he leaves the scene for SeaWorld in San Diego – but not for long.  An eccentric Australian media mogul, Kench Allenby (Josh Lawson) taps him to start up a 24 hour news network, so Ron gathers up the former team and brings them to NYC.  By this time Veronica has remarried a stuffy, pompous psychiatrist, Gary (Greg Kinnear).   Did I mention that Ron’s superior is not only a woman, but a black woman (Megan Good)?  Or that he’s not the top anchor, but a poor relation to Rick Lime (James Marsden)?  Or that Brick gets a love interest, Chani (Kristen Wiig), who is just as charmingly stupid as he is? 

   Of course, problems occur again, along with fun and games as well, and it's a different and more wacked out array of fun and games.   Ron loses his eyesight and retreats to a lighthouse.  Yes, for real.  He regains his sight and returns to Manhattan.   Yes, for real.  And we get a final confrontation in the city between multiple news teams – including the BBC (led by Sascha Baron Cohen) and the History Channel.   Just when you think it can’t go any more over the top, it does.   

   The humor is sometimes lowbrow, but nominally so, because Ferrell and his buddies pull it off with such remarkably clever wit that you can’t help but laugh.  In fact, you’ll laugh so hard you’ll forget to be ashamed of any of it.   Enjoy it.  And let’s hope they do make a third movie, because God knows how they’ll top this one.