Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgendy (2004) Dir: Adam McKay

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I am always somewhat skeptical of American satirical comedies, particularly of the early 2000s, though there are certainly those that survive well.

This one, directed by Adam McKay, is one that receives a decent amount of love. I can see where much of that comes from - there are several hilarious scenes throughout.

That said, I think there were also a lot of scenes that just didn't land for me. The story is evidently not to be taken seriously, and while I can appreciate that, the absurdity just wasn't all that appealing to me.

Will Ferrell gives a typical performance of him, which is to say, somewhat funny and somewhat irritating. Christina Applegate does what is asked of her, the problem is, she was asked to play an incredibly annoying character.

Steve Carrell plays what feels like a dumbed down version of his iconic role in The Office, and with very little screentime. For what it's worth, he was at least entertaining.

Paul Rudd is probably the most consistently enjoyable in the film, although he, like Carrell, has a rather limited amount of screentime compared to the likes of Farrell.

Finally, I'll give mentions to those most noteworthy from the rest of the cast; David Koechner, Chris Parnell, Ben Stiller, Fred Willard, Seth Rogan, James Marsden, Fred Armisen, Luke Wilson, Danny Trejo and Kathryn Hahn.

Overall, this is fine for casual viewing with friends, but isn't a film that stands up particularly well beyond a few admittedly very funny scenes.