The time is the late ‘70s, and Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) has been San Diego’s top anchorman for as long as anyone can remember. Everyone loves Ron, and Ron loves (among other things) the ladies, just as long as they don’t try to muscle in on his territory. So you can imagine the upset his applecart suffers upon the arrival of Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), a lovely young newscaster who, like Ron, dreams of becoming a network anchor. Ron does his best to sabotage Veronica’s chances, but his attraction to her finally becomes too strong and...well, you can pretty much guess the rest.

CRITIQUE

I love the first seventy minutes of Anchorman, but I hate the finale with a passion. The movie is capped by a (far too) long sequence in which everything that makes the first two acts so good comes to a screeching halt and the plot suddenly has to be dealt with. And the plot machinery here is just as absurd as the rest of the movie’s antics, but it’s incredibly stupid; even worse, it’s not funny.

It’s obvious that Ferrell and co-writer Adam McKay (who also directed) didn’t know what to do as they approached the climax. Unlike the rest of the movie, the logistics of the ending didn’t allow much room for improvisation, so everyone involved had to make do with what was on the page, which isn’t a good move in this sort of endeavor.

When the movie is funny, it’s very funny. Ron Burgundy is (so far, anyway) the ultimate Ferrell doofus. He’s egotistical, obliviously idiotic, and narcissistic. Ferrell plays it to the hilt, and even manages to make the guy likeable in a very odd way. He’s the type of character you’d likely loathe if you actually knew him (and God forbid someone like this should actually exist), but plug him into a movie this ridiculous and he has a certain appeal. And ridiculous it is.

How better to explain a movie in which San Diego’s various newsmen (many of them played by Ferrell’s Frat Pack cronies) go toe-to-toe in a fight sequence that borrows from both Spartacus and Planet of the Apes? Or what about the whole sequence with the burrito and the biker? And let’s not forget the bit about the chocolate squirrel. (Word to the wise: if it looks like chocolate but isn’t shaped like a bunny, don’t eat it.)

Given that so much of the movie was undoubtedly invented on the fly, it’s vital that Ferrell be surrounded by a supporting cast that was up to the challenge. Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and (especially) David Koechner all put in hilarious turns as the rest of Burgundy’s news team. But best of all is Fred Willard, playing the station’s news director, whose phone conversations regarding his son’s criminal acts get funnier and funnier as the movie rolls along. (Applegate does seem out of place at times, although her inability to riff on a level with her costars more or less suits her character, so casting a more seasoned improviser would have caused more harm than good.)

This disc contains the unrated version of the movie, which runs four minutes longer than the theatrical cut. The biggest additions here involve the aftermath of Burgundy’s profane signoff (he gets to drop a few more f-bombs) and the scene in which Burgundy suddenly becomes tumescent while chatting up Victoria in the newsroom (he proudly walks around the room calling attention to his condition). What you won’t find here is Wake Up, Ron Burgundy, the quasi-alternate version of the movie that was included with one of the standard-def releases, or the extras that were included with that cut. Why this material wasn’t included has yet to be revealed.

Although I skip the last ten minutes or so whenever I watch Anchorman, I always make sure to catch the closing credits. They contain outtakes from the movie, most of which are very funny, but they also contain...nah, I won’t spoil it. Let’s just say that McKay and Ferrell take an unfunny bit from an exceedingly unfunny movie (one of the worst of the early ‘80s) and make it work here. Make sure you don’t miss it.

THE VIDEO

The 1.85:1/1080p transfer is marred by the same softness that plagued the standard-def release. Grain is also uneven, especially in darker scenes (look at the pool party or the jazz club). On the plus side, colors look very good (if that’s actually the right word to describe colors from the late ‘70s), and when you factor in the inherent softness, the level of detail is often surprising.

THE AUDIO

As you might expect, audio in the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 track is very front-heavy. There’s a bit of music bleed in the surrounds, and a handful of directional effects pop up, but that’s pretty much it for the rears. The low end isn’t called on to do much, either, but that’s also to be expected. Dialogue makes up the vast majority of the aural information here, and while it’s always clear and intelligible, at times it exhibits a somewhat uneven, slightly distant quality. French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 tracks are also included. English, English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese subtitles are available.

THE EXTRAS

The commentary by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner, who are joined by “special guests” Andy Richter, Kyle Gass, and Lou Rawls (yes, that Lou Rawls) is--surprise, surprise--an endless stream of jokes and insults. It’s often very funny, especially when Rudd makes fun of one of Richter’s now-defunct television series, or when Richter and Gass resurrect a long-simmering feud.    

A selection of more than twenty deleted scenes (30 minutes total) is also included. Much of this is simply extended versions of scenes that made the final cut, but there are come completely excised bits. The hit/miss ratio for laughs is on-par with the movie itself, but some genuinely great stuff can be found here.

A selection of bloopers (7 minutes) offers up an assortment of flubbed lines and missed cues, but these are funnier than similar offerings tend to be. 

MTV Movie Award interviews (7 minutes) is a series of interviews Ron conducted for the 2004 edition of the awards show. These would have been funnier had the interviewees been in on the joke. 

A clip from Ron’s ESPN audition (2 minutes) finds Ferrell making some obvious, albeit still funny, remarks about the network’s future.

The Museum of Television and Radio Interview (10 minutes) finds an in-character Ferrell sitting down for a chat with newscaster Bill Kurtis (who also serves as the movie’s narrator).

The Making of Anchorman (10 minutes) is a jokey bit of EPK fluff, combining interviews with behind-the-scenes footage.

A very funny music video for the cast’s rendition of the AM-gold classic “Afternoon Delight” is also included.

Rounding out the extras is the movie’s theatrical trailer.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Anchorman is often very funny, but the fact that I prefer to pretend that much of the final act doesn’t exist prevents me from given it an unqualified recommendation. Fans who aren’t too miffed about losing Wake Up... will want to pick this one up, but everyone else is advised to rent it first.