All mainstream comedies fall prey to the trappings of the genre, be it a mercilessly silly plot, the need for a strong suspension of disbelief, a wholesale awful climax or, the most egregious violator of them all, a lead who becomes a better person in the span of the movie’s last five minutes. At first, I found these elements to be quite cloying and stifling; couldn’t anyone else see how these facets of the comedy genre were sucking the life out of the films being made? As time passed however, I realized that I had to accept these givens of the genre and instead I began asking the question: how much of the movie elapsed before any parts of the aggravating formula presented above first arrived on screen?

Director Adam McKay and star Will Ferrell earn a significant amount of praise for keeping their latest project, Anchorman, free of most convention and formula until the last act of the film. And given the current condition of movie-making in Hollywood, this is as close to perfection as one can hope to come.

Ferrell plays San Diego news anchor Ron Burgundy. Set in the mid 1970’s, Burgundy and the fellow members of his newsteam (Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner) are enjoying a good life as the number one ranked news program in the market and as the local ‘it’ celebrities, Chargers and Padres be damned. Burgundy is so in demand among the ladies that one of his most successful pick-up lines is "I want to be on you." Life changes quickly for Burgundy and the boys when their station hires on a female reporter, Veronica Corning-stone (Christina Applegate).

Ferrell brings an inordinate amount of energy and humor to the project, but Anchorman attains its laughs and success because it has little in the way of a clearly defined plot. Co-writers McKay and Ferrell provide the mustachioed character of Burgundy with a situation in order to let him react to the addition of a female journalist with horrified aplomb and comically over-the-top chauvinism

The supporting cast of Anchorman is good in their roles, though only Applegate is given any kind of character development with which to work. But this is really Ferrell’s show. Having enjoyed a successful experience as a leading man on Elf, Ferrell continues his run here. It doesn’t look like he will be returning to the second billing anytime soon.

The first 80 minutes of Anchorman are fresh, entertaining and surprisingly original cinema, especially considering their presence in a studio comedy. Here’s hoping more filmmakers follow McKay’s lead and choose to start avoiding formula until the last possible minute.

chris neumer

yes, it's true: While shooting his character’s binge drinking scenes in the movie Old School, Will Ferrell actually downed non-alcoholic beer.