COMEDY
Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell
As sign-offs go, it's a lame one. Ron Burgundy (Ferrell), a top-rated local newscaster during the blow-dried 1970s, finishes every broadcast with, "You stay classy, San Diego."
No one would accuse Anchorman, cowritten by and starring the talented and likable Ferrell, of being classy, but it is often funny. The plot has the sexist dumbbell Burgundy—"I love the ladies, but they don't belong in the newsroom"—being forced to question his prejudices when a dynamic female reporter (Applegate) joins his station. The two become lovey-dovey, though Burgundy scoffs at her ambition of becoming an anchor. Ferrell and Applegate spat onscreen with amiable ease, making like a journalistic version of that era's other dueling twosome, Sonny and put-down queen Cher.
With little on its mind besides poking fun at egotistical TV-news Twinkies, Anchorman is slyer than most other dumb comedies out there without ever making the mistake of taking itself too seriously. How could it when its hero, talking himself up to a prospective date, announces in his most sepulchral tone, "I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books." It's this kind of goofy line, and scene, that makes Anchorman a breezy hoot. (PG-13)
Some Kind of Monster
DOCUMENTARY
Take it from someone who freely admits to never having bought an album by Metallica or attended a concert by the wildly popular heavy metal band. You don't have to be a metal-head to be mesmerized by this picking-at-scabs look at the group's struggle to stay together and record a new album—all with the help of a sweater-wearing therapist earning nearly $500,000 a year to prod the band's members into talking about their feelings.
Lead singer-guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, who founded Metallica in 1981, are the most colorful figures (and the primary antagonists) in the documentary, which follows the group from 2001 to this year. Both are married with kids, but Hetfield continues to party too hard while the more directed Ulrich invests his money in contemporary art. When Hetfield disappears into rehab and his bandmates barely hear from him for six months, Metallica's future is in jeopardy. What began for filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (Brother's Keeper) as a making-of-an-album film instead became a dark journey into the soul of the band. This is a rock and roll movie for grown-ups. (Not rated)
Fahrenheit 9/11
King Arthur
Sleepover
Spider-Man 2
Retina King
L.A. native Regina King, 33, has acted with Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Sandra Bullock. New on her charmed resume: She's Hilary Duff's fairy godmother in A Cinderella Story, out July 16.
ON IMPRESSING HER FAMILY My son [Ian, 8] loves Hilary Duff. I said, I'm going to do a movie with Lizzie McGuire," That gave me major brownie points with him. He was doing a little dance.
ON DUFF'S APPEAL She has that personality that just seems so approachable, and I think that's why she has such a huge following. She loves looking great and wearing high heels and all that, but she does enjoy being a teenager. She doesn't seem to me to be trying to be a woman before her time.
ON GETTING PRANKED BY CRUISE ON THE SET OF JERRY MAGUIRE In between takes I was sitting off talking to somebody. Tom was by the camera and then all of a sudden he goes, "Regina! We're rolling!" I was like, "Oh my God," and I ran out in front of the camera and Steven Spielberg was standing there. He showed up to visit Tom. Steven was cracking up.
ON ENEMY OF THE STATE COSTAR SMITH He's just so happy to be Will Smith. If he worked for the sanitation department, he would still be happy to be Will Smith working for the sanitation department. You know how everything is new to a kid? He enjoys life like a kid.
ON SHOOTING THE UPCOMING MISS CONGENIALITY 2 WITH BULLOCK She's a tennis shoes, let's-go-jump-on-a-moped type of girl. I'm very similar. We're both very athletic, very competitive. We both show that we can kick butt. I can't say that one's better than the other.
Cold Mountain (Miramax, $29.99)
The ongoing war in Iraq gives added resonance to a sweeping tale about a romantic couple (Jude Law and Nicole Kidman) separated by the Civil War. Based on the National Book Award-winning novel of the same name by Charles Frazier, this 2003 film by director Anthony Minghella is a character-driven epic that powerfully demonstrates the destructiveness of war, both for combatants and noncombatants alike. Renée Zellweger took home a Supporting Actress Oscar for her lively turn as a self-reliant farmhand.
Extras: The two-disc set includes discerning audio commentary by Minghella and editor Walter Murch, a generous 13 deleted scenes and an informative making-of featurette. (R)
The Manchurian Candidate Special Edition (MGM, $14.95)
Just in time to compare with a remake starring Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber and Meryl Streep that's due July 30, here's the classic 1962 political thriller with Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury.
Extras: A fascinating audio commentary by director John Frankenheimer and a shooting-the-breeze reunion in 1988 between Sinatra, Frankenheimer and writer-codirector George Axelrod. Also, interviews with Lansbury, who was nominated for an Oscar for her dragon-lady role, and director William Friedkin (The French Connection), a self-avowed Frankenheimer fan who compares the film to a Greek tragedy. (PG-13)
Secret Window (Columbia TriStar, $28.95)
Another pleasingly quirky turn by Johnny Depp is the main reason to see this moderately entertaining, recent thriller, which is based on a Stephen King novella.
Extras: Chatty audio commentary by director-writer David Koepp, four deleted scenes (including an extended, grislier ending) and three numbingly comprehensive behind-the-scenes featurettes, giving Koepp another chance to gab. (PG-13)
- Contributors:
- Leah Rozen,
- Brenda Rodriguez.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
