For the first 20 minutes or so of Anchorman, I couldn't believe how lame it was. Ferrell's previous efforts were stupid, which they were supposed to be, and that's one thing that made them funny (like most "guy comedies), but also didn't require the viewer to totally abandon believability.
It wasn't until the news teams' rumble that I realized that the film is
Supposed to be so over the top. At first I thought it was Ferrell et al really reaching for jokes, punchlines. Once I realized that it's pure, unadulterated camp, the different perspective enabled me to "get" the jokes. It's sort of a poor man's, "Airplane", I suppose, albeit VERY poor
Hybrid Mode
