Last Updated: 4:54 pm, Wednesday, July 14th, 2004
“Anchorman,” “King Arthur,” “Sleepover”
By Linda Cook
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Anchorman” is a strange, funny movie about a strange, funny guy.
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Will Ferrell stars as Ron Burgundy, an anchor for the evening news on a San Diego television station. But Ferrell isn’t the only thing the movie has going for it — not by a long shot.
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The show also works as a not-so-nostalgic glimpse back into the 1970s and the challenges that women faced in television journalism at the time.
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Burgundy is a shallow fellow who just can’t get enough of himself. It’s all about Ron, and he knows it. He’s surrounded by his adoring male newsroom buddies who constantly glad-hand each other as they live the wild life at parties. They’re a happy, popular bunch until Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) arrives on the scene.
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Veronica is a serious journalist. She’s offended that the station manager (Fred Willard) hands her fluff assignments, such as a cat fashion show assignment, when she first arrives. All the “boys” in the newsroom throw a fit that Veronica is going to be allowed on the air. And they go into testosterone overdrive once arrives.
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Ron and Veronica fall in love … or do they? The other guys warn Ron that Veronica could be using him because of her ambitions of becoming a network anchor. But Veronica has the chance to prove her abilities, and she takes advantage of Ron’s weakness to send his career spiraling downward.
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Ferrell’s not the only funny guy here. David Koechner is terrific as the sports reporter Champ Kind; Steve Carell is wonderful as Brick Tamland, the not-so-bright weatherman; and Paul Rudd is great as reporter Brian Fantana. Each has a real personality and contributes to the story. Even though it’s Ferrell who carries the movie, he has the perfect support from these guys who have terrific timing.
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And there’s even a second backup team in Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins and Luke Wilson as rival journalists out to avenge themselves on Ron and his buddies. That’s not to mention the cute tri-lingual dog who is Ron’s most loyal friend.
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The delightful ’70s soundtrack will have you digging out your Neil Diamond and Bill Withers eight-tracks.
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You’re sure to get some chuckles out of this anchorman, even if you’re way too young to remember the ’70s.
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Wannabe epic ‘Arthur’ ignores history
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Not all epics are memorable.
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Sure, there’s the fine “Gladiator” and the enjoyable “Troy.” But then there’s “King Arthur,” a mediocre big-screen spectacle that should have been confined to the small screen — it’s a television movie in disguise.
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First, this allegedly is the “real” story of the legendary king. Uh, yeah, and “Dodgeball” is based on a true story, too. Historians continue to argue the veracity of the legend, much less the man himself.
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Here, Arthur (Clive Owen) is acutally Artorius, a Roman leader who fights the Saxons in the fifth century. His knights all sound familiar. There’s Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), and the only one with a real personality, the wild and woolly Bors (Ray Winstone).
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Merlin (Stephan Dillane) leads the Britons in anything but a wizardly fashion. His army joins Arthur’s as they take on the Saxons, led by a mumbling baddie (Stellan Skarsgård) who kills willy-nilly and seems to have some kind of upper respiratory blockage.
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Guinevere (Keira Knightley) is rescued from a dungeon by Arthur. And there ensues the classic romance formula: They meet, they dislike each other, and they can’t take their eyes off each other. Guinevere is a warrior, it turns out, and is quite handy with a bow and arrow.
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As for character development, well, the characters are pretty much interchangeable. One looks pretty much like another. This isn’t the fault of the actors, it’s just that the screenplay is so ho-hum that there’s little outstanding about any of the characters. Sometimes, the dialogue is unintentionally laughable. At other times, the humor is intentional, but often misplaced.
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A couple of moments are entertaining enough. In one scene, a woman sings a beautiful song. In a few others, a bird of prey is dispatched and returns to the man who most likely has trained it. There are a couple of battle scenes that are not too bad. The rest are simply messy, not because of gore but because you can’t really tell what’s going on. Possibly, this is a result of the director’s attempt to maintain that hallowed PG-13 rating for the kids of summer who flock to theaters when school isn’t in session.
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If you don’t know much about history, you won’t be educated after seeing this mediocre tale.
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Originality takes a doze in ‘Sleepover’
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“Sleepover” is a less-than-average take on teen life that’s been done better.
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This year, in fact.
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“Mean Girls” was smart, intuitive and on the money. “Sleepover” tries to be cutting-edge but never quite grasps reality, or empathy, for its characters. It’s a formula that works for the adolescent set but only because of a few cute scenes and tons of advertising before the movie’s release.
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Alex Vega from “Spy Kids” stars as Julie, a nice girl whose mom, or so she thinks, won’t allow her to grow up. Julie has a sleepover with her friends Hanna (Mika Boorem), who soon will move away; Yancy (Kallie Flynn Childress), who worries about her weight; and Farrah (Scout Taylor-Compton). Yancy is invited at the last minute because another girl can’t attend.
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Julie’s mom (Jane Lynch) informs all the girls that they’re to stay put. In the meantime, Mom heads out for a night on the town, leaving dad (Jeff Garlin) in charge.
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Everything seems to be going smoothly until the leader of the popular crowd, the “pleathers,” walks in. She informs the girls that there’s going to be a scavenger hunt. The prize is the coveted lunch spot next to the fountain at the high school.
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Now the girls have to sneak out to pick up all the objects, including a pair of boxer shorts from Julie’s crush object. This necessitates finding a car for transportation and finding a way in to the prom to secure the final “treasure.”
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During the scavenger hunt, the movie lost me. Julie has to sneak in to a night club and have a guy buy her a drink. She’s 14, and looks 14, and couldn’t get into a drinking establishment with a crowbar, bribery or both.
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There’s a darling little car, lots of fussing about clothes and looking cool, scads of running around, and little else. Of course, there’s the truant officer-type character that seems to be a staple of these things, but who just plain doesn’t fit in here.
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We’ve seen the dim-witted dad before, too, and the brother who helps out only because of deals cut by his frantic sister.
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It’s not an awful movie. It’s just another one of those teen/pre-teen formulas that’s bound to be forgotten by the time the kids who are watching are back in school.
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Linda Cook reviews movies for GO! and KWQC-TV6, where she can be seen on “Quad-Cities Today” Mondays and
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“Paula Sands Live” Tuesdays.
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Contact her at (563) 383-2400 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
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“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”
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***
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Running time: Ninety minutes.
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Rated: PG-13 for foul language, sexual situations and violence.
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Stars: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard and Vince Vaughn.
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Director: Adam McKay.
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Screenwriters: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
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“King Arthur”
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**
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Running time: Two hours.
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Rated: PG-13 for violence and sexual situations.
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Stars: Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Ray Winstone, Keira Knightley and Stellan Skarsgård.
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Director: Antoine Fuqua.
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Screenwriter: David Franzoni.
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“Sleepover”
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* 1/2
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Running time: Ninety minutes.
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Rated: PG for grown-up (sort of) situations.
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Stars: Alex Vega, Mika Boorem, Scout Taylor-Compton and Kallie Flynn Childress.
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Director: Joe Nussbaum.
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Screenwriter: Elisa Bell.