DVD Reviews

Anchorman: The Legend Of Rob Burgundy (2 Pack)

I wasn’t a fan of Will Ferrell when he started on Saturday Night Live. To me, those lame ‘Cheerleader’ sketches sucked, as did that Organ-Playing guy who seemed like a ripoff of Dave Thomas’ Tex Boil from SCTV. But Ferrell grew on me and although I was usually too busy to catch SNL during his time, he became the only reason to watch. Ferrell seems to have avoided the post-SNL movie curse, taking small roles in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Zoolander before his supporting role in Old School. Elf proved he could carry a movie, and although Anchorman had mixed reviews, a check on the IMDB of Ferrell’s upcoming projects (8 for 2005) it is clearly catapulting his career to the next level.

In my opinion Anchorman is the funniest movie I have seen in a long, long time. Will Ferrell brings to life one of the year’s best performances as fictional news anchor Ron Burgundy, a scotch-swilling chauvinist star of the 1970’s San Diego news scene. Former SNL writer and First-time Director Adam McKay co-wrote the screenplay with Ferrell, and a knockout cast including Christina Applegate, the hilarious Fred Willard, and The Daily Show’s Steve Carrell generate some real old-school type comedy, a hybrid of Best In Show-style performances with Airplane silliness. Like Best In Show or A Mighty Wind, the cast was allowed to improvise and much of the final cut came from unscripted material. So much so in fact, that an entire second film was created from these and put together as ‘Wake Up Ron Burgundy – The Adventure Continues.’ Much of the material feels familiar, but the extras alone on the second disc make the 2-pack DVD worthwhile. The cast’s original auditions (Steve Carell is particularly hilarious) and footage from rehearsals give a glimpse into the process of improvising the story, and is a real treat. Disc 2 also contains an ‘Introductory Commentary’ by Ferrell and ‘Executive Producer Aaron Zimmerman’ that is NOT your typical commentary.

The Extras on Disc 1 are even more spectacular. Anchorman should win an award just for the Menus, with randomly generated wallpapers and audio clips that change each time you click through the screens. There is a full-cast audio commentary, another 30 minutes of deleted scenes, Ron Burgundy interviewing celebrities and auditioning for ESPN, bloopers, a making-of feature, extensive production notes, a music video and a one-on-one with Burgundy and A&E’s Bill Kurtis that is not to be missed!

So what to buy, the 2-Pack or the single disc? If you saw Anchorman in theatres and loved it like I did, the 2-Pack provides loads more of the same. First-time viewers looking for balls-out funny won’t be disappointed with the single disc edition, and hey, if you like it, there’s more where that came from.

Review By Sean Pratt