It's a flat, dull picture marked by sporadic flashes of ridiculous brilliance.
Comment
07/08/04
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
65
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:186
Fresh:120
Rotten:66
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: It's a one-joke premise, but the movie is amiably dumb, and there are scenes of inspired goofiness.
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $84,136,909
Synopsis: Will Ferrell ("Elf," "Old School") stars as Ron Burgundy, the top-rated anchorman in San Diego in the ‘70s. When feminism marches into the newsroom in the form of ambitious newswoman Veronica... [More]
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, David Koechner
Director: Adam McKay
Reviews for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
141 - 160 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Little more than an extended Saturday Night Live skit with better wigs, real locations and a script that sputters as soon as its one-joke premise is exhausted.
07/08/04
Hammers away at the same comedic notes like an 8-year-old pounding out 'Chopsticks' on a parlor piano.
07/08/04
Keeps re-establishing Ron's egomania with diminishing returns of cleverness. The film goes nowhere.
07/08/04
For every gag that works, there's one that doesn't, and the story is too thin to keep us engaged otherwise.
07/08/04
Partway through the uneven string of skits that comprises Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, the film loses its mind completely.
07/08/04
There is enough goofy humor to satisfy the guy in me but “Anchorman” has too many problems to propel it to the heights of Ferrell’s recent vehicles.
07/08/04
That he can make his anchorman chauvinistic, deluded and ridiculous but still manage to give him some humanity is testimony to Ferrell's comic talents.
07/08/04
Top CriticEven if it's not exactly dripping with substance, it's still one of the most distinct comedies to come out this year -- distinctly stupid at times, yes, but also with a fresh and funny voice of its own.
07/08/04
You're not laughing at anchormen. You're laughing at formula movie rituals blown sky-high.
07/08/04
It's essentially a one-joke situation carried to a tedious length and Ferrell hardly runs away with his cliched part.
07/08/04
Burgundy is dim, vain and unrepentantly horny, but there is something so limited about him that he seems more pitiable than funny.
07/08/04
The barrage of very funny jokes makes up for any missteps, and by the end of the film you'll likely only remember the good parts.
07/08/04
An engagingly knuckleheaded comic vehicle for former Saturday Night Live trouper Will Ferrell.
07/08/04
essentially ninety minutes of name-calling and surprise cameos masquerading as comedy
07/08/04
I think Anchorman has the potential to achieve Austin Powers-like status as a highly quotable movie.
07/08/04
Ron may be an idiot, but Anchorman is no dope.
07/08/04
Funny in a roly-poly, shapeless way. Sort of like Ferrell's gut.
07/08/04
It's a long string of heavy-footed sight and sound gags that must have seemed a stitch at the drawing board, but made me squirm in my seat.
07/08/04
Dumb, dumber, dumberest!
07/08/04
Latest News for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
June 02, 2009:
Will Ferrell Talks Land of the Lost
Ahead of the release of the comedy-adventure Land of the Lost -- a big-screen adaptation of Sid and Marty Kroft's psychedelic TV series from the '70s -- Rotten Tomatoes got the... More...
May 27, 2009:
Will Ferrell Talks Anchorman Sequel 
Hope you've been staying classy, San Diego -- Will Ferrell says discussions for an "Anchorman" sequel are taking place. More...
July 25, 2008:
Weekly Ketchup: Anchorman 2, Dracula: Year Zero, Twilight Zone and Much More
In this week's Weekly Ketchup we've got the latest on plenty of remakes and sequels coming your way. Plus, check back Monday for an extra special edition of the Ketchup, in... More...
June 06, 2008:
Steve Carell Would Totally Make Anchorman 2
Steve Carell has told MTV that he has "some inklings" about what Adam McKay has in mind for Anchorman 2, and he's "absolutely" interested in coming back for the sequel. More...
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