The trailers for "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" are hysterical.
Too bad the movie's not.
I did laugh out loud a few times (Jack Black's cameo and end-credits outtake are "riotous," as the critics say). But I was surprised at how many lengthy dead spots there were. And it's so slow in getting started that the audience was virtually silent during the first 15 minutes.
And did I mention that it's awfully raunchy for a PG-13 movie?
But then, these days, what isn't?
"Anchorman" is doing well out of the gate, however. In fact, there are already news-wire stories that say WIll Ferrell will be an A-list contender with the box-office success of this film on the heels of "Elf."
Actually, "Elf" is a much better-conceived film. It has a funny gimmick, a good story, an ingratiating central character and a beginning, middle and end. All of which may seem elementary, but there are an awful lot of films out there that have only one or two of those elements, and far too many that have none.
Rules were made to be broken, of course, and cinema history is replete with unusual films that succeed — but when you're dealing with genre flicks, it's best to not stray too far.
In that regard, "Anchorman" is like too many post-"Saturday Night Live" movies: It's essentially a skit padded out to feature length. And the padding shows.
It's also hard to embrace a character as unlikable as Ron Burgundy. He's egotistical and smug, with nothing to back it up. He's also annoying.
A five-minute skit would be a hoot, but spending 90 minutes with the guy is an endurance test.
One of the things that makes "Elf" a better film is that the main character has a sweet innocence that makes him sympathetic. He's someone to root for.
When Ron Burgundy finds himself in a zoo's bear pit toward the end of "Anchorman," I just wanted him to be eaten so the film would be over.
This is also a problem I have with most of the characters played by Adam Sandler, Mike Myers and other current movie comics.
Both Sandler and Myers do try to add some "niceness" to their characters, but in the end they are either so violently aggressive or such sexual predators that it is unconvincing.
Look at Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd. One could even make a case that Charlie Chaplin's darker-edged Little Tramp was an innocent beneath the conniving exterior. He was also a man beaten down by the world, but, in the end, his heart was always in the right place.
The same goes for gentle Laurel & Hardy, or the more bombastic Abbott & Costello.
Jackie Chan maintains an innocent veneer even when he's kicking the tar out of his enemies.
Many of Steve Martin's best-loved comic characters, from "The Jerk" to "Father of the Bride" to the dads in "Bringing Down the House" and "Cheaper By the Dozen," are hapless — and in some cases, dumb. But they're also poor slobs we identify with because they're just trying to do the right thing in the face of overwhelming circumstances.
The most direct comparison to Ron Burgundy, however, is TV's Ted Baxter, the clueless anchorman on the '70s sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Baxter (played by Ted Knight) was a supporting character; very funny in small doses.
But, like "Anchorman," "The Ted Baxter Show" would have worn out its welcome rather quickly.
However, during the course of "MTM's" seven-year run, the character of Baxter deepened and became more multi-dimensional. Something Burgundy never achieves.
PS: A number of people have asked me why there is a "Smokey and the Bandit" outtake with Burt Reynolds and Sally Field among the numerous "Anchorman" outtakes during the closing credits. It does seem odd, but this is my theory: "Smokey" was the first film to put outtakes in the closing credits, which started a trend — for good or ill — that continues today. Perhaps it's Ferrell's tip of the hat to Reynolds.
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com