Anchorman

2004

4/5 Stars

“I’m not a baby.  I’m a man.  I’m an anchorman.”

Anchorman tells the story of the rise, fall, and ultimate redemption of Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), a star news anchor for a local news station in San Diego in the 1970s.  After years of success, including perennial television ratings superior to the rival news team led by Wes Mantooth (Vince Vaughn), Burgundy and his team struggle to adapt to change when a female reporter (Veronica Corningstone aptly played by Christina Applegate) is introduced to the newsroom. 

After an affair between Corningstone and Burgundy turns sour, Burgundy fails to cope with his own insecurities and falls out of favor in the eyes of his friends and loved ones.  When a prank gets out of hand, the city of San Diego- which once embraced him - turns its back on Ron Burgundy and leaves him lost and alone. 

In the end, Burgundy must break free from his “glass cage of emotion” and re-build what was once his.  With the help of his multilingual terrier (Baxter), Burgundy defeats the bears and emerges a stronger person.  

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

1985

3.5/5 Stars


“I know you are, but what am I?”

Pee-Wee’s Great Adventure takes us into the bizarre alternative world of Paul Reuben’s Pee-Wee Herman.  The feature-length directorial debut of Tim Burton, Pee-Wee’s Great Adventure stretches across the United States and features the cartoon-like protagonist on a quest to rescue his most prized possession- his tricked out bicycle. 

This film is a visual delight, and a perfect match for the highly stylized Burton.  Coupled with the playful music by Danny Elfman, the “Great Adventure” succeeds in being weird and crazy, yet entertaining and fun.  Reuben is a gifted character actor with great timing and a knack for physical comedy.  His childish banter with his arch-rival Francis (Mark Holton), which culminates in a great fight sequence, is worth the price of admission. 

The movie has some scary moments (involving sadistic clowns and the ghost of “large Marge”), which can make it feel a bit uneven at times.  This said, Pee-Wee doesn’t even have to talk to be funny in most scenes and the chase sequence at the climax of the film through the WB studios is straight from the keystone cops films of the 20’s (except this chase features an appearance from TWISTED SISTER!). 

Weird and quirky, but a lot of fun.  

Airplane!

1980

1.5/5 Stars

“Go out and win one for the zipper!” 

Oh god.  A wildly successful smash hit of 1980, Airplane! is silly and ridiculous throughout.  It follows the main protagonists Ted (Robert Hays) and Elaine (Julie Hagerty) as they have to conduct of an emergency landing of a commercial airliner after things have gone nutty! 

Sorry- this film felt terribly dated to me throughout and has not aged well.  What was a cutting edge comedy in 1980 feels flat and, at some points, just plain offensive in 2010.  Gay and racist jokes (including a pair of “jive talkin’” blacks- WHAT are they even SAYING?!! HAHAHA) are mixed in with a ton of goofy/silly slapstick gags (like the dying girl who makes funny faces when her life support system is accidentally knocked loose!). 

There were a couple of chuckles in this one (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is funny in his random appearance as the co-pilot), but overall, it is a LONG 90 minutes.  I would only recommend it to a serious fan of the “zany screwball comedy” genre.   

Swingers

1996

4/5 Stars

“You’re SO money!  Now kill the bunny!”

Written, directed, and starring Jon Favreau, Swingers is the film that first put Mr. Favreau on the Hollywood radar.  Made on a shoestring budget ($200,000), the film grossed $4.5 million and still has a following today.  Swingers has spawned several impersonators in the bro/buddy/dude genre, but while often imitated, it has rarely been duplicated.

Strangely enough, I had never seen this movie until recently.  I went in expecting HBO’s “Entourage” in movie form, but what I got was a bit more nuanced than that.  Sure, there is a lot of “guys being guys” nonsense (much of it coming from the outspoken Trent, played brilliantly by Vince Vaughn), but I was surprised by the amount of character development in the movie. 

The plot revolves around Mike (Jon Favreau), a would-be Hollywood comedian, who is six months out from a brutal breakup with a longtime girlfriend.  As his personal and professional life stumbles, he relies on the support of his friends- mainly Trent and Rob (Ron Livingston) – to help him see things through.  While Trent is the show-stopping loudmouth that tries to jar Mike from his funk, Rob is more soft-spoken and outwardly sympathetic.  While these characters aren’t above giving one another shit and talking trash (especially over games of NHL on the SEGA Genesis), it is evident that they really care for one another and want to see things work out for Mike.  (They come off more as nice guys and less as pure assholes as the crew in Entourage.) 

I went in expecting the film to be a straight comedy, but it was more of a drama/comedy hybrid.  There are a lot of quotable lines (mostly coming from Trent), and while the movie can feel dated at times (VERY 90s) and the pacing sometimes seems slow, this is a well written and believable piece for anyone that has taken a long time to recover from a bad breakup.  Some of the “bro” dialogue can be over the top, but I thought this showed the movie wasn’t taking itself TOO seriously.  The actors seem to be playing slightly exaggerated versions of themselves, which just adds to the realism (and sense of fun) to the whole piece.