Home Theater: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Giftset and Open Water

Twice the Anchorman, twice the laughs

By Bob Grimm

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Giftset

Anchorman (Unrated):

Wake Up Ron Burgundy!:

Special features:

Oh, the many wonderful, weird and wacky things that can happen in the land of DVD.

Earlier this year, director Adam McKay claimed that he shot so much unused footage while making Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy that he had enough for another full-length movie. Apparently, Will Ferrell and company had themselves a ball while shooting their broadcast news parody, and many hours of excised footage deserved to be seen. McKay said that this "deleted scenes" movie would be released as a companion piece to Anchorman on DVD. Well, that sounded insane...like crazy people talking.

McKay wasn't lying, and Wake Up Ron Burgundy! is the proof, a 92-minute, full-length film made of alternate takes, deleted scenes, and an entire subplot that didn't see the light of day for the theatrical release. Is it any good? Sure it is! It's actually better than most intended comedy releases from last year. Is it better than the original movie? Of course not, but the concept of an entire film made from a scrap heap is interesting enough to warrant a look-see, and the funny results are quite surprising.

The deleted subplot involves a radical group called the Clock who rob banks and kidnap Christina Applegate's newswoman character. One can see why McKay and company decided to go in a separate direction. I'm guessing the panda bear birth sequence that now ends Anchorman was the product of a rewrite and reshoots after test audiences puked. While Wake Up isn't great moviemaking, it has golden Ferrell moments as well as nice turns by Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler of "Saturday Night Live."

Ferrell fans won't be disappointed. You now have two Ron Burgundy films from the master of the moronic. Getting Anchorman on DVD was enough...getting two movies is just the pure definition of super cool.

Special features: If you want Wake Up Ron Burgundy!, you must buy the two-disc gift set. The unrated version of Anchorman contains a few extra curse words and a dumb scene where Ferrell eats dog shit. The commentaries are wacky (as one might expect) and despite an entire film made from deleted scenes, there's actually plenty of additional deleted scenes on both discs. Tons of Will Ferrell hilarity to consume.

Open Water's special features lack teeth

Open Water

Movie:

Special features:

Don't watch this one if a diving expedition is in your near future. Two poor saps (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis) charter a boat for some reef viewing and wind up being left behind in the ocean after a botched head count. Meanwhile, those interesting sharks that tour guides insisted were harmless begin to circle closer, and the two poor saps commence panicking. This movie is nobody's idea of fun, but it's an amazing achievement all the same. Ryan and Travis do a rather convincing job of looking scared to death, rather easy for them being that they swam with real sharks. Was a big hit at the Sundance Film Festival, and enjoyed some decent box office last summer. Making the experience all the more soothing is the knowledge that the film is inspired by the story of two divers who suffered a similar fate. That sucks.

Special features: Extras here aren't nearly on par with the film. A making-of documentary is marginal at best, while some director's extra footage offers nothing exciting. The deleted scenes were deleted for a reason, and fail to enrich the experience. There are two commentaries, one from the filmmakers and the other from Ryan and Travis, who do offer entertaining insights into their exercise in extreme fear.