Will Ferrell              Ron Burgundy

Christina Applegate   Veronica Corningstone

David Koechner         Champ Kind

Paul Rudd               Brian Fantana

Steve Carell             Brick Tambland

Let me start off by saying that this movie is funny as hell.  It could've sucked, but it didn't.

The story takes place in the 70s.  Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) is San Diego's top newsman, and a legend in the area.  Everyone knows who he is.  He and his news team (sports reporter Champ Kind, Field reporter Brian Fantana, and Weatherman Brick Tambland) are consistently rated #1.  Then news comes that changes things: the network is worried about diversity, so a woman is being brought in to join the team.  Enter Veronica Corningstone (Applegate), an ambitious reporter with ambitions of being an anchor.  Burgundy, of course, falls in love with her, but he's also determined to make sure she doesn't replace him.

The best thing about this story is it's characters.  Burgundy is an arrogant idiot.  Kind and Fantana are pretty much the same as him.  Corningstone is the straight man (well, straight woman).  But the best character in the movie, in my opinion, is Brick Tambland (Carell).  Early in the movie, you find out that, in his words, "years later, a doctor will tell me I have an IQ of 48 and that I am considered mentally retarded".  He has many of the best line in the movie, and Carell plays him great.  Carell's work on the Daily Show and in Bruce Almighty were good, but this is him at his best.

The movie doesn't really get real funny until about 20-30 minutes in.  Before that, Tamland has the main laughs.  But when this movie gets going, it had some great laughs in it.  As usual for this kind of movie, there are cameos by other comic actors, some of these are expected, some aren't (I'm not giving any away, cause I don't do spoilers).

So, while Anchorman is not a great movie, it's entertaining, so it achieved it's goal.

3/4