ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY

One of the funniest things about the comedic exaggeration of ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY is how lifelike it is. Yes, the styles of the '70s are an easy target and yes, they are laughable which is why simply accurately recreating them gets laughs. Those old enough to remember will chortle in recognition (while also wincing in embarrassment) and those not old enough to remember will probably find the movie's look amusing on the grounds of sheer ridiculousness.

The script by Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay takes a few more liberties with reality than the wardrobe and furnishings but what they show us is still recognizable in its broad strokes. Immensely self-satisfied San Diego, CA anchorman Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) is the biggest fish in his medium-sized news pond, idolized by coworkers and the public and furiously envied by the competition. Ron and the rest of the news team feature commentator Brian Fontana (Paul Rudd), sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner) and weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) hang out together, reveling in their pseudo-macho glory and posturing for all they're worth when the cameras aren't rolling. Then Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) enters the newsroom and the boys feel that their world has been invaded. When Ron and Christina fall head over heels in love, the other three feel threatened. When Ron has a tragedy that keeps him from turning up by airtime and Veronica gets her big break, he feels threatened.

The rivalry between Ron and Veronica turns out to be simply one subplot in a fairly rich tapestry of parody routines. Ferrell and Co. are having a ball sending up the successful '70s swinger types, and there's a truly funny, beautifully underplayed gag with Ron's producer (Fred Willard) constantly trying to smooth over situations created at school by his disturbed son. The movie also gets in a number of spoofs of various genres, gleefully sending up formula rivalry romance comedies without becoming heartless.

However, ANCHORMAN does have the feel of a SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE sketch one that is intelligently conceived and played to the hilt by very gifted performers, but still a concept that can only evolve so far, if only because lack of evolution is part of the joke. All of the setpieces are fine in their own right, but there's a sameness of tone that starts to become evident as the film continues. However, there are certainly high points, such as a cameo-studded confrontation between competitive news teams that suddenly shifts gears, so that suddenly we're out of SNL territory and closing in on Monty Python.

Ferrell gives a seamless performance, and gets superb backing from Rudd, Koechner and particularly Carell, whose matter-of-fact cheerful idiocy never winks at the audience. Applegate plays her sensitive '70s career gal with aplomb and Willard is folksy perfection. The cameo folks are all astutely chosen and Clayton R. Hartley's production design accurately captures the cringeworthy style of the day.

ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY is very proficient sketch comedy. Those who can't get enough of this sort of thing will love it; those who appreciate it but prefer it in smaller doses may feel over-satiated by the end.