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Will Ferrell is at his very best in Anchorman, and now that two of his finest comedies have just arrived on Netflix and are streamable, a new generation will be introduced to Ron Burgundy.
2004 saw the release of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Designed as a spoof of 1970s newsroom culture, the 2000s film stars Will Ferrell as the eponymous “Anchorman,” who has trouble adjusting to the success of a new female anchor (Christina Applegate).
Although Will Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy is the movie’s standout character, the supporting ensemble, which also includes Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, and Judd Apatow, makes sure that you never run out of laughter. The first movie received largely favourable reviews from critics. It received a 66% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Ferrell’s persona topped several best movie and greatest movie character lists.
After being dismissed from his previous job in San Diego, Burgundy gathers his old buddies to prepare to take on the next great thing in media: a 24-hour news station. Ten years later, Anchorman 2 was released, continuing the story of Burgundy on a new journey.
Anchorman 2 received higher praise from reviewers than its predecessor, receiving a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and being hailed as the “funniest movie of the year.”
Ferrell discussed how opinions of Anchorman had evolved between the first and second film in an interview with Refinery29. “From local news media, at first we were just patted on the head, saying ‘That’s a funny little movie, but it’s not very accurate,’” he recalled. “Now, every local news station embraces that movie, and they’ll even tell us who the Ron Burgundy is at the station.”
He also explained to the publication how the organic rise in popularity of the first Anchorman over the years served as the impetus for the creation of a sequel.
“It was just a slow drip, drip, drip, as the original movie kept growing in popularity without any of us doing anything,” Ferrell said. “We all just kept checking in over the years talking about how everyone brings up the movie. We were reticent about making a sequel, but we just woke up one day wondering why we can’t have fun, too. They got to make three Oceans Eleven, so why can’t we do it?”