Ryan Finn
Staff Writer

“Anchorman” is a strange creature. It is not needlessly disgusting like a gross-out comedy but neither is it low-key and witty. The humor here, in fact, is difficult to classify at all. It is, as Will Ferrell himself notes in the credit outtakes, overtly ridiculous.

That is to say the film manages to be absurd, silly and just plain goofy without being irritating. It’s definitely not as wildly chaotic as some recent comedies. It keeps its feet on the ground, mostly relying on actors (and not situations) to bring out the laughs.

Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is the biggest name in the San Diego news world of the 1970s. Everyone knows him and loves him. And he loves everyone in return. Ron is pompous, suave and absolutely incompetent as an anchorman. No matter. He’s good enough for this particular 1970s.

His all-male news team includes Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) as the on-site reporter, Champ Kind (David Koechner) as the sports man and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) as the weatherman.

Into this tight-knit group of friends strolls Veronica Corningstone (Christian Applegate), destined to be the new face around Channel 4 in an act to avoid the criticisms of homogeneity and sexism. The issue of women breaking through the glass ceilings of television journalism in the ‘70s is mere clothesline though.

That is no bad thing actually. This is a comedy, not a thoughtful, sensitive social drama. However, I had the feeling that the plot was chosen more for the possibility of 1970s jokes about hair, clothing and culture than for anything else. Funny? Of course. A little too easy, though.

More could have been done given that the time and situation were so ripe for the scrutiny and teasing of hindsight. However, the cast and crew have little interest in that. They are telling a simple, funny story of romance and rivalry amid the hotbed of television journalism.

The relationship between Burgundy and Corningstone is the ironic, curious, hilarious heart of the film. As Burgundy’s stock falls and Corningstone’s rises, bad blood starts to flow. The best parts of the film come when the two co-workers snipe at each other at various levels of questionable maturity.

Ferrell is a wonderful comedian. He has proven time and again that he hardly needs dialogue at all to be funny. He can twist an eyebrow or stretch his mouth and we laugh almost instinctively. Applegate, who is charming and beautiful as Corningstone, matches him well here.

The biggest surprise is that the rest of the cast is just as good as the two leads. Rudd, Koechner and particularly Carell offer some of the best laughs in the film. There’s also Fred Willard as the station manager, Vince Vaughn as a rival anchorman, and even a few perfect cameos that I won’t spoil here.

It’s unfortunate then that the film falls a little flat now and then. The laugh ratio is somewhere around 60:40. I’m sure the writers (Ferrell and first time movie-writer/director Adam McKay) probably thought it was hilarious. At least the film has comedic ambition.

What I mean is that "Anchorman" doesn’t always go for the broad, easily digestible jokes. There are some, and they certainly work well, but much of the film is just plain bizarre: hallucinogenic animation doubles for sex, a gangland rumble amongst rival stations involves hand grenades and tridents, and Burgundy maintains a questionable relationship with his multilingual dog, Baxter.

I think that’s admirable. Instead of relying wholesale on jokes involving bodily fluids, alcohol or sex, the film takes some chances with the absurd. If my own reaction is any indication, the film doesn’t quite hit a homerun, but at least it tries.

With the likes of this film, “Dodgeball," and others, are we moving away from gross-outs and into the blatantly ridiculous? I almost hope so. It certainly wouldn’t be new: screwball slapstick has long been pointedly surreal, and even a half-return to that form would make me happy at least.

“Anchorman” may use a social issue as the basis of its comedy, but it is really about the strange nature of human beings in pre-defined groups. The film has its ups and downs, but it tries out some audaciously odd comedy and funny, capable actors guide it.