Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

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July 9, 2004

July 9, 2004

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a 2004 American satirical comedy film directed by Adam McKay in his directorial debut, produced by Judd Apatow, starring Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate and written by McKay and Ferrell. The first installment in the Anchorman series, the film is a tongue-in-cheek take on the culture of the 1970s, particularly the new Action News format. It portrays a San Diego television station where Ferrell's title character clashes with his new female counterpart.

The film made $28.4 million in its opening weekend, and $90.6 million worldwide in its theatrical run. It was met with lukewarm reviews from critics upon release but has undergone a gradual critical reassessment since then as one of the greatest comedy films ever made. It was ranked at number 100 on Bravo's 100 funniest movies, number 6 on Time Out's top 100 comedy films of all time, number 113 on Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, and number 49 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century.

Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, a companion film assembled from outtakes and abandoned subplots, was released straight-to-DVD on December 28, 2004. A sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, was released on December 18, 2013, with Paramount Pictures replacing DreamWorks Pictures as the distributor.

Storyline

In 1975, Ron Burgundy is the famous anchorman for a San Diego television station, KVWN Channel 4, working alongside his lifelong friends on the news team: lead field reporter Brian Fantana, sportscaster Champ Kind, and meteorologist Brick Tamland.

Station director Ed Harken informs the team that they have retained their long-held status as the highest-rated news program in San Diego, leading them to throw a wild party, where Burgundy unsuccessfully attempts to pick up a beautiful blonde woman, Veronica Corningstone.

Harken later informs the team that they have been forced to hire Corningstone. After a series of unsuccessful attempts by the team to seduce her, she finally agrees to a "professional tour" of the city with Burgundy, culminating in a sexual relationship. Despite agreeing to keep the relationship discreet, Burgundy announces it on air.

After a dispute with a motorcyclist ends in Burgundy's beloved dog Baxter being punted off the San Diego–Coronado Bridge, Burgundy is late to work. Corningstone fills in for him on-air, receiving higher ratings than Burgundy usually receives, and the couple break up when he bemoans her success. Corningstone is promoted co-anchor, to the disgust of the team. The co-anchors become fierce rivals off-air while maintaining a phony facade of cordiality on-air.

Depressed, the team (barring Corningstone) decide to buy new suits, but Tamland, leading the way, gets them lost in a shady part of town. Confronted by main competitor Wes Mantooth and his news team, Burgundy challenges them to a fight. When several other news teams converge onsite (which includes the Channel Two News team, the Public News Team, and the Spanish-language News team), a full-on melee battle ensues, only broken up by police sirens that cause them to flee. Realizing that having a female co-anchor is straining their reputation, Burgundy gets into another heated argument with Corningstone, and they get into a physical fight after she insults his hair.

After one of Corningstone's co-workers informs her that Burgundy will read whatever is written on the teleprompter, she sneaks into the station and changes the text in revenge. The next day, he (unaware of what he is saying) concludes the broadcast with "Go fuck yourself, San Diego!" instead of his signature closing line, "You stay classy, San Diego!" triggering an angry mob outside the studio and prompting Harken to fire him.

Realizing she went too far, Corningstone confesses to him that she was responsible, making him angry. Unemployed, friendless, and heavily antagonized by the public, Burgundy grows depressed while Corningstone enjoys her new-found fame, with Fantana, Kind, and Tamland begrudgingly working with her. Harken has warned against them talking to Burgundy, under threat that they'd be fired as well.

Three months later, when a panda is about to give birth, every news team in San Diego rushes to the zoo to cover the story. In an attempt to sabotage her, a rival news anchor pushes Corningstone into a Kodiak bear enclosure. When Harken is unable to locate her, he recruits and rehires Burgundy.

Once at the zoo, Burgundy, with his morale restored, jumps into the bear pen to save Corningstone as the public watches. The rest of the news team then jump in to save them. Just as a bear is about to attack, Burgundy's dog Baxter, who miraculously survived his fall, intervenes and encourages the bear to spare them. As the group climbs out of the pit, Mantooth appears and holds the ladder over the bear pit, threatening to drop Burgundy back in, saying that deep down, he has always hated him, but then admits he does respect him before pulling him to safety.

After Burgundy and Corningstone reconcile, it is shown that, in the years to come, Fantana becomes the host of a Fox reality show named Intercourse Island, Tamland is married with 11 children and is a top political adviser to George W. Bush, Kind is a commentator for the NFL before getting fired after being accused by Terry Bradshaw of sexual harassment, and Burgundy and Corningstone are co-anchors for the CNN-esque World News Center.

Also See

Movie Trailer

  • Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) (Trailers)

Sound Effects Used

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