Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steven Carell, David Koechner
Director: Adam McKay
The film: Will Ferrell cut his teeth on Saturday Night Live, giving us the ultimate take on former US president Bill Clinton and a litany of other oddballs. Fans had a long wait, but Ferrell slowly found his place in Hollywood after taking smaller roles and almost walking away with Zoolander (2001), Old School (2003) and Starsky & Hutch (2004).
Anchorman is his first above-the-title role and he's now a key member of the 'Frat Pack' that includes Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and the Wilson brothers, Owen and Luke. Their comedy is, let's face it, silly in the extreme. And no one rejoices in it more than Ferrell. He takes characters and inhabits them before tearing them apart before our eyes.
Ron Burgundy is a case in point. He's the quintessential 1970s news man - complete with outrageous tash and dodgy polyester suit. But in Ferrell's hands he also inhabits a world that could never have existed. And the film is all the funnier for it.
