Last week, my friend Joey posted something on Facebook referencing the 2004 Will Ferrell vehicle “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”. I mentioned that I’d never seen it, and he encouraged me to giving a try, noting that it was a dumb movie but quite funny.
Well, thanks to HBO, I’ve now seen the first half of the movie. While I found it sporadically funny, it really wasn’t grabbing me, and at the point when the dog gets drop-kicked off the bridge, I turned to kitanzi and said ‘We can stop.’ She noted that if everyone had been dumb *except* for the Christina Appelgate character, that might have been salvageable, but when she turned out to be (or at least appear) just as much a moron as the rest, we quickly fell into the Valley of the Shadow of Idon’tcarewhathappenstothesepeople, from which few ever escape.
One item of note from the movie. I do believe that’s the first time in recent memory I’ve seen Fred Willard play a character where he was the *smartest* guy in the room.
A much more agreeable film was “I Love You Man”, a 2009 bromance romcom starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, and Rashida Jones. Peter (Rudd) is engaged to be married, but has no close guy friends, which worries his fiancée Zooey (Jones) and her girlfriends. So he sets out to make some, and in the process meets up with Sydney (Segal), a sort of man-child guru who gets Peter in touch with his inner bro, but ends up creating tensions between Peter and Zooey as he spends more and more time running off to spend time with his new friend. Rudd is fantastic as the uptight straight man, Jones is charming and attractive, and Segal plays a familiar-for-him character with all his usual flair. The ending is predictable, but sweet, and there’s an interesting subtext to the whole thing if you view it through the lens of polyamory.
On the whole, I’d give “I Love You Man” a recommend, and “Anchorman” a skip.
rdmaughan
I have not seem either film. I tend to assume I won’t enjoy anything with Will Ferrell in and I don’t think I have come across the other one.
Rob Wynne
I recommend “I Love You, Man”. I usually share your assumption regarding Farrell, and I generally assume the opposite for Segal, who I have liked in pretty much everything I’ve ever seen him in.
Rob Wynne
Will Ferrell is very hit or miss for me. Sometimes he’s funny, and sometimes he’s not. Without watching, I couldn’t be sure which this would be.
Adam Sandler, on the other hand, I can honestly say I’ve never enjoyed for a single moment, to the point where I’m unwilling to even try one of is films on recommendation. I got into a fight with a girlfriend once because I refused to watch “The Wedding Singer” despite her insistence that it was good. “It has Adam Sandler in it”, I said. “Life is to short to watch Adam Sandler movies.”
erinwrites
I understand your feelings about Adam Sandler, but I *heart* The Wedding Singer. It’s adorable.
ladymondegreen
I get that, but that’s why I was shocked when I loved Adam Sandler in 50 First Dates.
bikergeek
Christina Applegate’s character in Anchorman was reportedly loosely based on Jessica Savitch.
All you need to know about Anchorman:
“Stay classy, San Diego.”
“You’re a smelly pirate hooker! Why don’t you go back to your home on Whore Island!”
“I love scotch. Scotchy scotchy scotch.”
There, I’ve just saved everybody two hours.
TBH, I found Anchorman at least modestly funny, at least funny enough to watch all the way through, but YMMV.
And I agree with you about Adam Sandler. His presence is enough to torpedo any movie for me.
netpositive
I share your distaste for movies (and I assume books, not to mention pop culture) if they are populated entirely by stupid or obnoxious people whom I would avoid like the plague in reality. Life is indeed too short to watch Adam Sandler!
The only thing worse than “the Valley of the Shadow of Idon’tcarewhathappenstothesepeople” is when the characters are so hateful you can’t wait for their entire universe to end in a fiery nuclear explosion or something even more painful. The first Kathe Koja book I ever read, I finished only because I was rooting for the black hole to win….
erinwrites
Have you seen “Role Models”? Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch. I like that movie way more than I should. 😉
Rob Wynne
I have not, but I’ll add it to my list of films to look out for. Thanks! 🙂