A Very Important Paul Rudd Comedy Just Arrived On Netflix
Paul Rudd was part of the wave of Judd Apatow films that dominated comedy for quite a bit, and one of the most important comedies is now on Netflix.
Every once in a while, a comedy comes along that almost everyone sees, knows, and quotes on a regular basis for the next decade or so. It’s safe to say that Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, is definitely one of those comedies. The smash comedy hit that starred Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner as the Channel 4 News Team just hit Netflix, and it’s definitely one that’s worth checking out, or revisiting if you’re one of the many who have already seen it.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is Will Ferrell operating at the peak of his powers. The goofy comedy is filled with one-liners, physical gags, and ridiculous antics. The movie portrays the local news team for channel 4 in San Diego, back in the 1970s. Will Ferrell plays the anchorman Ron Burgundy alongside field reporter and ladies’ man Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), idiot weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), and sexist sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner). The team is thrown for a loop when the beautiful Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) is hired and subsequently promoted to co-anchor. The film was directed and co-written by Adam McKay, along with Will Ferrell. Judd Apatow produced. Other than the main cast, the supporting players were stacked with comedic talent as well. The laundry list of other cast members included Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, Kathryn Hahn, Fred Armisen, Vince Vaughn, Danny Trejo, Seth Rogen, Paul F. Tompkins, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and more.
Although Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, and the rest of the cast have a lot of comedies credits to their names, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy can arguably be considered one of their best. The movie pretty much has non-stop laughs, with even the dramatic moments being played for laughs. The movie has only increased its reputation over the years, with enough love behind it for an eventual sequel in 2013. Though the sequel didn’t get nearly as much love as the original, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy still cemented its place in the list of great comedies in the 2000s. Just looking at some of those “Best Movies” lists will give you an idea of the impact this movie had. Empire put Ron Burgundy in their list of 100 Greatest Movie Characters and in their list of 500 Greatest Films Ever. Entertainment Weekly ranked Ron Burgundy high in a similar poll. Plus, if you ask anyone who has seen it, they can probably quote at least one line from the movie.
Looking at the box office and the Rotten Tomatoes score, it’s easy to see how big of a success this movie was. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has an 86% audience score. The critic score isn’t great, but critics aren’t usually too kind to goofball comedies anyway. At the box office, it made over $90 million worldwide. While that may not seem like a huge number compared to some of these big superhero blockbusters, that’s pretty good for a comedy. The movie undoubtedly got more popular as the years went on, but it was popular at the time of its release as well. While there are probably better movies in Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, and Adam McKay’s catalog, it’s hard to dislike this effort from them.
Adam McKay continues to make goofy comedies for a while, but now he’s moved on to a more prestige-oriented career. Since 2016, he’s been nominated for seven Oscars and walked away with one of them for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Big Short. McKay has also shared a number of Emmy nominations, as well as an Emmy win, for his work on the hit drama series Succession, which Will Ferrell also worked on with him. McKay even dipped his toe in the superhero world with Paul Rudd when he wrote the Ant-Man screenplay. McKay’s most recent big project was Don’t Look Up which got him an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. While it doesn’t seem like McKay will be returning to his goofy comedy roots anytime soon, we still have Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and The Other Guys to look back on.
