Movie Review: Anchorman The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Anchorman (2004) 

Directed by Adam McKay 

Written by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay 

Starring Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Steve Carell, Fred Willard

Release Date July 9th, 2004 

Published July 8th, 2004 

In the early 1980's, my older sister became a reporter for a local TV news station. At that station were the last bastions of 70's TV anchors, guys who could clearly remember a time when there were no women in the newsroom. One of those guys could be the template for Will Ferrell's ingenious Ron Burgundy character in the new movie Anchorman. This guy smoked during commercials, sipped scotch during sports, and partied like a college kid when the show was over. He was also legitimately clueless without a teleprompter in front of him. He was a character, like him or not, and now that character has a loving tribute in Anchorman. 

Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is San Diego's most trusted newsman. His evening news broadcast is the most watched in the city. Ron Burgundy and his news team, sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner), Weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), and roving reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), are the envy of every station in San Diego. They are also quite a hit with the ladies. 

Their idyllic boys club newsroom, presided over by producer Ed Harken (Fred Willard), is thrown into chaos when network execs force them to hire a female reporter. Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) is no mere reporter, she has her eye on the anchor desk and on the man behind it. After attempts by each of the news team to try and bed the new girl, Veronica falls for Ron. However, when she gets her shot at the anchor spot the competition tears them apart. 

Oh and there is also a massive brawl between San Diego's news teams that features so many cameos you will need a scorecard to remember them all. Who knows why there is a brawl, who cares, it's funny. What else stands out are the names of the characters, which have the perfect mixture of realism and pomposity. Brick Tamland! Brian Fantana! Champ Kind! Ron Burgundy! There is also a rival character named Wes Mantooth! Brilliant. 

That is the best plot description I could come up with. In reality there is not much of a plot but rather a series of strung together sketches that would have made a legendary Saturday Night Live character. This makes sense since the film was directed by former SNL writer Adam McKay who also collaborated on the script with Ferrell. When I say that Ron Burgundy is like an SNL character I mean that to be more in the Wayne's World quality of SNL character and not in the It's Pat sense. Anchorman is far better than most of the film trash produced from any SNL characters. 

The gags in Anchorman are a scatological patchwork of 70's newsroom parody and obviously improvised dialogue. It's almost hard to believe there was an actual script considering the number of improvised scenes. This amazingly talented cast can riff with the best of them though the improvising does occasionally take a little while to find a punchline. 

Will Ferrell proves once and for all that he will not be resigned to the Rob Schneider comedy ghetto, Will is a star. It helps that he has found a group of comedy all stars to call on for backup. Listing the number of hysterical cameos would take awhile and ruin the surprise. Needless to say, there are some you expect and one or two that really surprise you. Who is that guy in the ‘fro working for the public television news team? You might take a second to recognize him. 

If you’re looking for a message about gender equality, woman’s lib, or just the minor victory of integrating of the newsroom, you won't find it here and you wouldn't want it here anyway. It would get in the way of the juvenile slapstick humor. The juvenility is intentional, it's a Will Ferrell trademark and it works for him. 

Anchorman is about the same thing that this summer's other big hit comedy Dodgeball is after, and that is off the wall scatology. Whatever the actors, writers and directors think is funny, goes. And if somewhere we stumble upon a plot, so be it. It's not great filmmaking but for the most part it's very funny.

Movie Review: Crazy Stupid Love

Crazy Stupid Love (2011) 

Directed by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa 

Written by Dan Fogelman 

Starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore 

Release Date July 29th, 2011

Published July 28th, 2011 

Will Steve Carell ever grow up? In The 40 Year old Virgin Carell played a man-child who needed the help of friends to get him laid for the first time. Now, some seven years later, Carell is playing a slightly more grown up man-child who still needs help getting laid, this time after his wife of 25 years, Emily (Julianne Moore), has divorced him.

Enter Jacob played by Ryan Gosling. Jacob looks like he walked out of the pages of GQ carrying the swagger of a pro athlete and the ladies man rap of The Game author Neil Strauss. Jacob takes pity on Carell's Cal after repeatedly listening to Cal whine about his wife cheating on him. Naturally, this leads to a montage of Carell trying on clothes while Gosling hits on the various women assisting in their clothing choices. Soon, Cal has a swagger and for the first time in 25 years he's having sex with a woman who is not his wife, in fact, he's having sex with a number of women.

Jacob meanwhile, finds himself in an entirely new place in life. Hannah (Emma Stone) is the rare woman to reject his advances but after she gets a surprise from her would be fiancée she decides she wants the bar-hopping bad boy. Thinking that it would be just a one night stand, Jacob and Hannah have one of those first nights together that you end up telling your kids about.

Crazy, Stupid, Love was written and directed by the team behind the hit 2010 comedy Easy A, Glen Ficarra and John Requa. The duo has a good ear for the way people speak and an excellent feel for the comic rhythm with which people in movies speak. Carell and Gosling have a terrific comic rapport; quite surprising given Gosling's talent for drama and Carell's comic tendencies.

Also excellent is the chemistry between Gosling and Emma Stone. Ficcarro and Requa did great things with Stone in Easy A and the actress continues to show the promise of a budding superstar in Crazy, Stupid, Love. The Jacob-Hannah love montage would be typical, even perfunctory, were it not for the chemistry of these two terrific performers.

Crazy, Stupid, Love is far from perfect; the film goes off the rails a little late in the film after revealing an unnecessary plot twist and a ludicrous plot involving Cal and Emily's babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton.) That said, young actress Analeigh Tipton is a total sweetheart who has a terrific sub-plot with Cal and Emily's son Robbie played by Jonah Bobo.

The good things about Crazy, Stupid, Love greatly outweigh the bad. Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling are terrific together as are Gosling and Emma Stone. Add in small roles for Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei and you have a recipe for a terrific movie that cannot be spoiled by minor imperfections.

Movie Review: Dan in Real Life

Dan in Real Life (2007)

Directed by Peter Hedges

Written by Pierce Gardner, Peter Hedges

Starring Steve Carell, Dane Cook, Juliette Binoche, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney, Emily Blunt

Release Date October 26, 2007 

Published October 25th, 2007 

Peter Hedges' film  Pieces Of April was a funky little indie feature about family and togetherness, secrets and lies. The visual style was risky in how disjointed and even at times ugly and stylishly amateur it was. Now, Peter Hedges is moving up to big time mainstream filmmaking and it seems that the move to the studio has taken away his flair for the risky and the funky. His latest, Dan In Real Life, could not be less risky or funky. A straight laced genre romance, Dan In Real Life is a warm but extraordinarily dull little mainstream sitcom, something of a disappointment for a rising star director.

Steve Carell stars as Dan Burns, an advice columnist raising three daughters. Dan lost his wife years ago and is convinced that he is done with relationships. That changes on a family trip to Rhode Island where his parents (Diane Wiest and John Mahoney) live in a lovely beach house where the entire extended family gathers for a week every year.

While getting away for a few hours from his daughters, each of whom are upset with dad for different reasons, Dan meets Marie (Juliette Binoche). The two spark a conversation about books that leads to coffee and scones and eventually to Marie giving Dan her phone number, despite the fact that she is town with her boyfriend and is meeting his family. What a shock then, that the boyfriend happens to be Dan's brother Mitch (Dane Cook). Now Dan must decide whether he should risk everything and pursue his brothers girl or deny the first new love he's felt since his wife passed away.

Nearly everything about Peter Hedges' charming directorial debut Pieces of April is missing from the machine like Dan In Real Life. Churning through the required scenes of a romantic comedy, Dan In Real Life feels forced throughout. The fake vibe of the whole enterprise rises to levels of smarm that are nearly stomach turning.

If Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche weren't such terrifically lovable actors Dan In Real Life would be an absolute chore to sit through. As it is, Carell and Binoche have almost zero chemistry together but just enough likability for us not to be entirely bored by them. Without resorting to mugging or cuteness, Steve Carell still manages to squeeze a couple of laughs out of this story but not nearly enough to make Dan in Real Life worth watching.

As for Juliette Binoche the lovely French actress coasts on her talent in a role she could have performed in her sleep. There is nothing really challenging in this script, unless you consider pretending to want Dane Cook, a challenge, and some might. Dan In Real Life throws highly typical romantic comedy roadblocks in front of Binoche and Carell and both actors go through the motions of not being together before the inevitable and obvious conclusion.

Director Peter Hedges is far more talented than this sitcom in movie clothing suggests. I can't help but feel that Dan In Real Life and not Pieces of April is the anomaly of his career. Pieces of April was smart and funny and a little risky in both the storytelling and style. Dan in Real Life is the antithesis of risky. Nothing could be less risky than this puppy dog romantic comedy made from the leftovers of several other dull, forgettable romances.

Movie Review: Date Night

Date Night (2010) 

Directed by Shawn Levy

Written by Josh Klausner 

Starrive Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Ray Liotta, Common, Jimmy Simpson

Release Date April 9th, 2010 

Published April 8th, 2010

A couple of bored New Jersey-ites decide to mix up their routine with a trip to the big city and find themselves mixed up in a murderous plot involving gangsters, crooked cops and dirty politicians in the new comedy Date Night starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell and directed by mainstream machinist Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum 1 & 2).

Shawn Levy has never been what anyone would call an auteur. Levy is, without a doubt, a craftsman but more along the lines of an amateur carpenter than a master builder. Levy's films tend to unfold with a solid plan in mind and end up as rickety, half completed disasters. To be fair, the half completed parts can be quite entertaining and have proven exceptionally popular.

How nice then that Levy's latest rickety contraption, Date Night, actually shows the director becoming a better craftsman. Unlike the Night at the Museum movies, Date Night has a quick pace, oodles of charm, and more than a few really big laughs. It helps to have a pair of very, very funny leads to carry the audience over the trouble spots. As Phil and Claire Foster, Steve Carell and Tina Fey do a remarkable job of portraying a marriage with a little dust on it. The routine of once a week dinners, lame book clubs and time spent with fellow dusty married couples is so well evoked that you can't wait for the expected wackiness to ensue.

The wackiness arrives when Phil and Claire, frightened by the recently announced divorce of a longtime friends, break from their routine for a night in New York City. The couple want to have dinner at a swanky new restaurant in Manhattan but they don't have a reservation. When another couple doesn't show, Phil boldly claims the reservation and the identity of the missing couple.

That couple, unfortunately, happens to be the missing link between a mob boss (Ray Liotta) and some dirty cops (Jimmi Simpson and Common) and a shady politician. When the dirty cops come after the Foster's one wild night ensues as they evade the bad guys with the help of a hunky security expert played by a shirtless Mark Wahlberg.

The plot is creaky and as well aged as Claire and Phil's marriage routine. The key to making it work lies with Carell and Fey's ability to sell the goofball, over the top gags and sell they do, Carell and Fey make a top notch comic duo. Scene after scene, whether Phil and Claire are sharing a quiet meal, poking quiet fun at fellow diners, or running from a hail of bullets or in a wild car chase, Carell and Fey make the most of their terrific comic chemistry to draw big laughs.

If you like the Steve Carell and Tina Fey you know from TV then you will like Phil and Claire. Director Levy cleverly plays the story to the strengths of his stars and they reward him by taking thin characters and a well worn plot and make something surprisingly, hilariously more of it.

With any other cast Date Night would crash and burn. With Steve Carell and Tina Fey Date Night becomes a fast paced, laugh out loud riot; stay for the credits which tack on a few more big laughs in Carell and Fey's blunders and ad libs. Shawn Levy may never be a great director but with the right cast and the right material he is an effective director and that is all that was needed for Date Night.

Movie Review: Dinner for Schmucks

Dinner for Schmucks (2010) 

Directed by Jay Roach 

Written by David Guion 

Starring Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Bruce Greenwood, Jemaine Clement, Zach Galifianakis

Release Date July 30th, 2010 

Published July 29th, 2010 

Barry (Steve Carell) is a schmuck. He has no couth and is completely unaware of the feelings of others. He is not malicious, merely clueless. Barry's hobby is dressing and posing dead stuffed mice in intricate dioramas and when he meets Tim (Paul Rudd) for the first time it's while retrieving another dead mouse from the middle of a busy street and bouncing off the hood of his car.

That Barry is a schmuck is stipulated by the title Dinner for Schmucks but that Tim too is something of a schmuck is the overarching point of the movie Dinner for Schmucks directed by Jay Roach whose talent lies in crafting intricate dioramas of schmucks being schmucks whether they are played by Paul Rudd or Ben Stiller or Mike Myers.

Tim is a corporate climber looking to make a move to the corner office. When his opportunity arrives it comes with a caveat; Tim must find a loser to bring to a dinner at his boss's (Bruce Greenwood). The loser must be a real loser, one he and his fellow corporate VP's (Daily Show's Larry Wilmore and Office Space's Ron Livingston) can make fun of.

This is an obviously jerky scenario, one that Tim is not comfortable with and when his girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) tells him not to go through with it that seems to settle things. Then, Tim hits Barry with his car and well, mice dioramas of The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa look like just the thing to win over the boss.

The story is thin but it works as the perfect coat hanger of a plot on which to hang a number of big gags and wacky characters. Among the wackiest is Flight of the Conchords star Jemaine Clement as Kieran a mind blowingly odd artist. Though Schmuckish enough to be the perfect Dinner guest, he's actually an art client of Tim's girlfriend with designs on sleeping with her. Kieran's art involves paintings of himself as various animals, more often than not goats.

Wait till you meet the rest of the dinner guests. But, that's not till the end of Dinner for Schmucks. On the way we get to know Barry as he goes about destroying Tim's relationship, apartment and job. And yet, somehow we don't mind. Steve Carell pulls off quite a trick in Dinner for Schmucks and gets us on Barry's side even as he is a catalyst for destruction.

Steve Carell nails the role of nerdy, off-putting weirdo and yet manages to win us over. Believe it or not, by the end of Dinner for Schmucks you are ready to see this weirdo get a happily ever after, one fitting of his completely bizarre self. As for Mr. Rudd, as he was straight man to Jason Segal's oddball in I Love You Man he is an even better, funnier and more effective straight man to Mr. Carell.

The strength of Dinner for Schmucks lies in big gags and bigger goofballs. Jemaine Clement, The Hangover's Zach Galifianakis, The I.T Crowd's Chris O'Dowd and puppet comic Jeff Dunham are just a sampling of the wackos who bring the laughs in Dinner for Schmucks. Each has maybe a scene or two but it's all they need to deliver their punchline and get out. 

The classic showbiz cliché always leave'em laughing is the heart of Dinner for Schmucks. The characters get in; get the laugh and get out; making way for the next set up and punchline and payoff. It may not pay off with a compelling story but the laughs more than make up for the lack of a hardy narrative.

Movie Review: Dr Seuss' Horton Hears A Who

Horton Hears a Who (2008) 

Directed by Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino 

Written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio 

Starring Carol Burnett, Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Amy Poehler, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett

Release Date March 8th, 2008 

Published March 7th, 2008 

We get a lot of animated movies every years and a number of very good ones. The artists of modern animated features are, more often than not, responsible caring, smart people who have your childrens best interests at heart. That is certainly the case with the team behind the latest Dr. Seuss adaptation Horton Hears A Who.

Jim Carrey gives voice to Horton the elephant, one Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel's most enduring characters. In the land of Nool Horton is popular with the little ones and teaches them about the forest. His non-traditional teaching style is frowned upon by the sour Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) who fears Horton is causing the children to use their imaginations.

The Kangaroo grows even more sour when Horton takes to talking to a small speck atop a flower. You see, according to Horton, there is a tiny population on that speck called Who's. Horton has made contact with the Who's Mayor (Steve Carell) and has vowed to protect the populace and get the speck to the safety of a mountaintop sunflower.

Horton rescued the speck after it was dislodged from another flower, something that has caused big trouble for the who's from earthquakes to massive shifts in weather patterns. If they don't get to safety soon they will be destroyed. Standing in Horton's way is that dyspeptic Kangaroo and her mean sidekick Vlad (Will Arnett) a vulture who vows to destroy the speck free of charge.

The dramatic stakes are high but Horton never gets to serious about it's situation. This is first class kids entertainment with both big laughs and smart subtext. Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino were the minds behind this adaptation and they have kept much of Dr. Seuss's material intact, not the least is his undying respect and reverence for a child's mind.

The exceptional voice cast also keeps things light and fun. Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and Carol Burnett do a tremendous job finding just the right tones for the lead roles. Meanwhile, Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill and Amy Poehler offer terrific support.

Horton Hears A Who is as smart as it is funny. Underlying the story of Horton and the Mayor's heroic journey are ideas about spirituality and environmental concern that maybe Dr. Seuss didn't intend but become prominent in the expansion of Horton from a small book to a feature length film. The movie is about believing in something whether you can see it or not. It celebrates the imagination but also the capacity to believe in something beyond reason. Horton cloaks faith in the veneer of modern animated humor and somehow never comes off preachy.

The animation of Horton could not be a better representation of Dr. Seuss's classic style mixed with modern animated technology. The opening image of a drop of water on a leaf is breathtakingly realistic and there are striking images throughout Horton. Images that catch the eye without overstatement. Impressive and not overwhelming, a delicate balancing act. This is one terrific little movie. If you have kids then you must have Horton Hears A Who, a new animated classic for your collection.

Movie Review: Evan Almighty

Evan Almighty (2007) 

Directed by Tom Shadyac 

Written by Steve Oedekirk 

Starring Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, Wanda Sykes

Release Date June 22nd, 2007

Published June 21st, 2007 

I found Bruce Almighty a little puzzling. Was Jim Carrey God for the entire world or just for the city of Buffalo where the film is set? Who knows, I guess the real question is why I am dragging such a logical question in to a discussion of a movie where logic is the least important thing imaginable? Bruce Almighty wasn't really a movie, in the sense of a series of scenes that coalesce into a story. Rather, Bruce Almighty was a concept blown up to movie length. Director Tom Shadyac and writer Steve Oedekirk simply thought of a one line pitch, Jim Carrey as God, and worked from there. The same creative bankruptcy plagues the even more logic free pseudo-sequel Evan Almighty. This film emerged from yet another one line pitch, Steve Carell as Noah.

Evan Baxter (Carell) was Buffalo's number 1 newscaster. Now he is Buffalo's representative in Congress having recently won election. Moving with his family, including his wife Joan (Lauren Graham) and their three sons, to Washington D.C; Evan has promised voters that he is going to change the world. God (Morgan Freeman) likes Evan's ambition and decides to offer Evan the opportunity to really change the world.

Dropping wood and tools on Evan's lawn, God tasks the former newsman to build an ark. The flood is coming and Evan will have to have the boat built in time if he is going to change the world and save a few lives. Evan is naturally skeptical but when animals begin following him wherever he goes, and he sprouts facial hair that Charlton Heston in The 10 Commandments would envy, he can no longer fight what God has asked him to do.

Directed by Tom Shadyac, who also directed Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty is a spirited but lunkheaded comedy. Star Steve Carell does everything short of roll over and beg for laughs as he tries to wring some humor out the muck of Evan Almighty. It's a tribute to his talent and that of his picking up a paycheck co-star Morgan Freeman, that Evan Almighty does have a happy vibe throughout.

Unfortunately for both performers, director Tom Shadyac simply cannot get ahold of this material. Every plot strand seems to run off in a different direction and he simply lacks the ability to coax it all back into a cohesive whole. Meanwhile, as the story drifts away, the special effects, from CGI condors, tigers and bears to the abysmal, Ed Wood gone computerized, flood, all are strictly amateur efforts.

There are numerous things wrong with Evan Almighty aside from Tom Shadyac's ability to bring it all together as a cohesive whole. A glaring problem is the films gutlessness. This is a biblical tale, God is one of the stars, and yet real religion is scarce. We never learn what denomination Evan is nor do we see him in church. Piety is not entirely necessary but the film never takes a stance on just how religious Evan is aside from a brief, begrudging prayer.

This is also a film in which politics are involved and yet the filmmakers seem to have no concept of how politics or democracy works. As Evan gets into his ark building, robe wearing, shaggy bearded business he worries that he may be fired from his job. Evan is a Congressman. To fire him, the voters have to vote him out; yet he acts as if John Goodman's evil elder congressman is his boss with the ability to banish him if he feels like it.

(Side note, I am aware that Congress can expel a member of Congress, however, one single Congressman cannot fire another Congressman.) 

Of the glaring political misnomers, where is the President? The alternate universe of Evan Almighty has no President. He's not even referred to. One would think that if a nutty Congressman started dressing like Noah and building a giant ark and bringing animals, two by two, from across the globe, the President of the United States just might notice it and have a comment or two.

And in case you were wondering where Evan stands politically, the film does not assign him a political party. Fearing they might turn off potential moviegoers, Evan's politics are mysterious at best. He drives a Hummer which some would see as being Republican-ish, but that is not a great indicator. This might not matter if Evan were something of a political dupe who got elected by chance thanks to a welcoming smile and positive demeanor but the story establishes quickly that Evan is neither incompetent or incapable.

As with all things in mainstream Hollywood, this is a box office calculation. The movie must appear as all things to all people so as not to offend any potential audience. Hence, no religious affiliation for Evan nor a political party. This, of course, only serves to muddy the waters of the films comic intentions. It can't be a satire of anything because that would require a perspective. There is a muddled pro-environment message. John Goodman's evil congressman is trying to push through an environmentally unsound bill, but the details of this plot are too confused for any useful context.

So why did I walk out of Evan Almighty smiling? I'm not exactly sure. There is a big dance sequence over the credits with a lot of behind the scenes footage that is a whole lot of fun. There is also the quick witted performance of comedian Wanda Sykes who seems to be reprising her role from another awful movie, the Jane Fonda-Jennifer Lopez pseudo-comedy Monster In Law.

As she did in Monster In Law, Sykes performs the service of comic fixer. When scenes lack humor, as so many scenes in Evan Almighty seem to, director Shadyac simply cuts to Sykes for yet another of her quick witted quips and put downs. You can sense even when the quips were scripted and when they weren't, the likely ad-libs of Ms. Sykes are far funnier than the scripted ones.

There is a scene where Evan confronts congress in his full Noah garb and Sykes provides comic commentary from an entirely different location, speaking to no one but us in the audience. Intentional or not, this scene seems cobbled together as if it simply weren't working and the editors cut in clips of Sykes to make the scenes funny.

Steve Carell does what he can with this inelegant script and gamely throws his body into as much slapstick as he can endure. His attempts are kind of funny in that classic three stooges, laugh at someone else's pain sort of way, but when not throwing himself to the ground or hitting himself with a hammer, Carell is left at the mercy of this ludicrous script and left only a little dance to try and bring some life to scenes. The dance gets old quick.

Cowardly, confused and amateurish, Evan Almighty is a terrifically bad movie. And yet, I feel bad trashing it too much. Steve Carell is so talented and likable that I want to cut this film all the slack I can. That isn't much. Wanda Sykes is a real scene stealer but there is no need to waste your time seeking her out in this film when DVD's of her stand up material are readily available and free of the yoke of pulling this movie behind it.

Evan Almighty is the most expensive comedy ever made and one of the biggest wastes of money Hollywood has brought to the screen in a long while.