WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2004
MOVIES
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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25
Ferrell's male-chauvinist humor funny in 'Anchorman'
Will Ferrell's humor comes from honesty. His characters are brutally, hilariously and cluelessly frank.The title character in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a smooth-talking version of the Janet Reno who bellowed "I'm sick and tired of your lies!" Burgundy shouts as well, or at least lets loose his blunt observations louder than everyone else's. If you've laughed at Ferrell's insensitive and endearing lugs before, you'll think Anchorman is as funny as I did.
Ron Burgundy and his Channel 4 news team rule dinner-hour TV news in
'ANCHORMAN'
■ Theater: South Wind 12, 12:05, 2:20,
4:50, 7:25, 9:50
■ Rating: PG-13
■ Ward's Grade: B
1970's San Diego: a time when everyone believed what they heard on television. Brian Fantana, Champ Kind and Brick Tamland (Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Steve Carrell) live in a world of ugly suits, big sideburns and obnoxious pick-up lines. They greet Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), San Diego's first female reporter, with harassment. Although
Veronica is unmoved by the advances of Burgundy's sidekicks, she cannot resist Burgundy, the master of the jazz flute.
The biggest laughs go to the news team and the endless stream of cameos that go with any Will Ferrell movie. Applegate is just along for the ride. She's supposed to be the most serious character, but she mugs it up sometimes herself. Applegate can be funny, but is drowned out without being given anything as funny as what the chauvinist newsmen get to do. Best in Show's Fred Willard is also wasted as the station manager. Steve Carrell almost steals the movie playing a weatherman even more dimwitted than himself on The Daily Show. His friends are alarmed when he
brings a remarkably inappropriate weapon to a street fight. I also liked the deadpan narration by Bill Kurtis, the guy who narrates about fifteen hours of shows a day on the A&E channel.
Ferrell, who wrote the movie with the director Adam McKay, has fun with the idea that a stuffy newsman speaks the same way off camera. He squints and feigns interest when his only real skill is to read exactly what's on the teleprompter. It's funny enough to watch local TV news anchors try to humanize their blustery sincerity and self-importance with bad puns and toothy grins. Ron Burgundy and his crew talk the same way all the time.
Bob Ward
'Fahrenheit 9/11' emotional, but won't influence voters
Some Hollywood critics have suggested that Michael Moore's newest tirade, Fahrenheit 9/11, will have an impact on the impending election.
The documentary, which chronicles the events leading to and following Sept. 11, stirs up emotion, but what it doesn't do is lead a convincing argument that would help an undecided voter to put their vote elsewhere in November.
Fahrenheit 9/11 spends too much time showing the Bush administration getting their makeup done waiting to
'FAHRENHEIT 9/11'
■ Theater: Liberty Hall, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45
■ Rating: R
■ Grade: B-
go on camera. If Moore's most shocking revelation in the film is that Washington officials sit around for a few moments waiting to go live to the entire American audience, then Moore needs to get new insider connections.
The most dramatic parts fall in the second half, where Moore drifts off track and starts deploring the American milli-
tary and shows disturbing footage of dead bodies in Afghanistan and Iraq following U.S. occupation. It is at those moments, when Moore's patronizing narration ceases, that he truly finds Fahrenheit 9/11 lacks the capacity to hold an educated debate about the dark road this administration has lead this country down. Rather, it takes footage every American has already seen on the nightly news and condemns and ridicules every mistake the President and his advisers have made, as though it was for the first time in American political history mistakes had been made or facts covered up.
Meagan Kelleher
Liberty Hall
644 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Super Size Me (PG) 4:30 7:10, 9:30
South Wind 12
3433 Iowa Street, Lawrence, KS 66046
Dodgeball:12.10, 2.25, 4.35, 7.30, 9.55
Shrek 2, 12.30, 2.45, 5.00, 7.35
The Notebook, 12.35, 4.10, 7.20, 10.05
The Terminal, 12.40, 4.05, 7.05, 9.55
Harry Potter, 12.40, 4.05, 7.05, 9.55
Harry Potter, 4:10. 7:00. 10:00
King Arthur, 12:20, 2:15, 3:55, 5:10, 8:00, 8:00, 10:10
Sleepover, 12:15, 2:30, 4:45, 7:10, 9:25
■ Spider-Man 2, 12:00, 1:00, 1:45, 2:45,
3:45, 4:30, 5:30, 6:30, 7:15, 8:15, 9:15,
10:00