‘Burgundy’ is Vintage

After seeing “Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy” I couldn’t figure out why this simple comedy was staying with me like it did until I finally hit on it; “Anchorman” (from Dreamworks, now playing at the La Cañada Regal theatre) is one of the freshest, most original comedies in years.

Let’s face it, the string of ex-Saturday Night Live movie-duds-based-on-SNL skits is nearing legendary proportions of its own. The likes of “Stuart Smalley,” “The Ladies Man” and even one with Will Ferrell himself, “A Night At The Roxbury,” are but a few worms in a very rotten apple. And while “Anchorman” isn’t based on a SNL skit, it’s only natural to be wary going in given the recent SNL movie pedigree and given that at first glance (via the trailers) the main character of Ron Burgundy comes off as a bit of a one joke pony.

Worry not. With “Anchorman,” writers Farrell and Adam McKay (who also directed) have created an extremely fresh, imaginative and very funny world in which to play their laughs. In fact their comic vision for this absurdist world they thrust us into is so strong and so unique, I found myself early on having to fight against movie comedy conventions that have been ingrained in me - conventions that were subconsciously making me try to steer the movie someplace it was never going to go.

Case in point is the ‘love story’ in “Anchorman” between Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone (played with adept comic timing and flair by Christina Applegate). This could easily have been played (and would have been in 99 percent of the drab romantic comedies today) as realistic and by me not ‘getting’ the rules of “Anchorman’s” world at first, I kept trying to make sense of their relationship - why would she go for this guy, etc.? It didn’t take long to realize that this world wasn’t the world of those other comedies and that the audience was in for something truly funny and surprising at every turn. Bet you’ve never seen a love scene right out of “Rainbow Brite” have you? It works.

Set in the ‘70s, “Anchorman” plays against a backdrop that is familiar enough and yet distant enough to have a hoot on our own past. And it’s an era that works perfectly to play an over-sexed, sexist bozo like Burgundy against. And while the movie is set in the world of TV news, it’s not about that, in fact it’s joyfully about very little other than making the audience laugh. Bet you’ve never seen a street rumble with news anchors that is part “High Plains Drifter” and part “West Side Story,” have you? It works and it’s funny.

The cast is great all around and in fact one supporting player, Steve Carrell, threatens to steal the movie with his bizarrely simple but hilarious presence (“I just ate a big red candle!”).

And therein lies the secret of this movie - a genuine desire on the part of the writers, director and stars to make us laugh in a charmingly off-beat way and yet from a distinctly askew place in the cosmic comic universe. It works.

“Anchorman” is rated PG-13, there are numerous comically-sexual references, but I suspect most would go way over the heads of any kids under 10. Make this a date night movie and share the comic absurdity with someone you love.