michigandaily.com/arts A R T S
MONDAY
JULY 12, 2004
I
By Hussain Rahim
Daily Arts Writer
Hznrgy for
more Banks
By Evan McGarvey
Daily Arts Writer
Music REVIEW * *
Lloyd Banks has been content to lurk
in the shadow of 50 Cent for the past 18
months. Taking
his turn at bat, o
Banks did some- Banks
thing unexpected Hungry For
-he made Hun- More
gry For More, an i i
album with loads
of personality .
Banks' voice rumbles far beyond
raspy and deep; it sounds like the man
has a subwoofer next to his larynx. His
flow spawns long verses packed with
hissing threats and flashes of real story-
telling. But instead of the five-minute
yarns Banks has spun on countless mix -
tapes, listeners have to settle for sixteen
bars before settling into a chorus.
And what grinding choruses they are.
Banks' hefty voice mumbles over the
usual themes of masculinity and rage for
a few seconds before plunging back into
his stream-of-consciousness narration.
He just doesn't sound comfortable
singing the hook. If someone else han-
dles the chorus, such as the sample
vocal on "When the Chips are Down,"
listeners get an cleaner sense of Banks'
lyrical ability. The usual complaint about
hardcore rap is that it portrays a lifestyle
no one actually leads, but Banks evades
criticism by acting as a witness to the
occasional horrors of urban life, not
playing cartoonish super-thug.
But there are no real smash cuts on
the album. The first single, "On Fire," is
unsatisfying, and the all-star "Warrior
pt.2" with Eminem, 50 Cent and Nate
Dogg doesn't have chorus hypnotic
enough to stick. That aside, most of the
songs are polished, especially the snap-
ping "Playboy" and "Til the End."
As the recording behemoth behind
Banks prepares to reload with an
upcoming release from Young Buck and
another 50 Cent album, rap fans would
be wise to pray for Banks' emancipation
from the G-Unit factory. The man needs
space to roam, choruses and club
bangersube damned.
There are about three true comic
stars today, entertainers whose
involvement in a movie ensures
great box office
results: Jim Car-
rey, Adam San- AnChorman:
dler and now The Legend of
Will Ferrell. Ron Burgundy
This is the man
who powered a At Showcase
manic Christmas DreamWorks
comedy, "Elf,"
over the final chapter of the
"Matrix" trilogy. After the success
of that movie, studios resurrected
"Anchorman" and have greenlit
anything they could fit Ferrell in.
There will be no dearth of him on-
screen in the near future.
"Anchorman" brings us back to
sunny San Diego in the 1970s. It
was a simpler era, a time when
political correctness was unheard of
and progressive ideas such as work-
place diversity were still a twinkle
in a liberal's eye. Men ruled local
newsrooms, and the post-broadcast
after-parties had more groupies
than Touchdown's after a Saturday
home game. Ron Burgundy (Will
Ferrell, "Old School"), lead anchor
of San Diego's top-rated newscast,
rules this newsroom with his mot-
ley crew at his side. Things are
good. But the addition of Veronica
Corningstone (Christina Applegate,
"Married with Children") to the
newsroom breaks up the network's
boys' club mentality.
ridiculous appearance as a biker
and Ben Stiller ("Dodgeball") plays
the rival at the Spanish language
news station. Vince Vaughn
("Dodgeball") has a larger role as
the number two-rated newsman
with a burning jealousy of Farrell's
character. Former "The Daily
Show" faux-reporter Steve Carell
("Bruce Almighty") plays mentally
handicapped news anchor and
comes as close as any cast member
to stealing scenes from Ferrell's
imposing comic presence.
Despite tertiary characters' goofy
antics, "Anchorman: The Legend of
Ron Burgundy" is all about Will
Ferrell. The man is a comic force,
and with "Anchorman," he has
established a spot for himself in the
upper echelon of actor-comedians.
Unfortunately, when the camera is
off of Ferrell and the audience is
supposed to care about "plot," there
simply isn't one. Applegate's strug-
gle as a trailblazing career woman
is not an easy vehicle for comedy,
and she comes off as stiff playing
opposite Ferrell.
Just as Ferrell's Ron Burgundy
dominates "Anchorman"'s news-
room, Ferrell dominates "Anchor-
man." His talents behind the camera
also contributed to the film's suc-
cess; he shares writing credits with
director McKay. But with the bene-
fit of hindsight, perhaps that wasn't
the best outlet for Ferrell's brand of
comedy: It's obvious that improvi-
sation was responsible for the
rapid-fire joke machine that is
"Anchorman," and when the chem-
istry between actors hits right, the
film is pure hilarity.
Step into my office, baby.
BOOGIE NIGHTS
ANCHORMAN' PARODIES '70S CULTURE
The dark satire of "Network" dis-
mantled television news perfectly in
1976, but its tone was deathly seri-
ous. With "Anchorman," director
Adam McKay ("Saturday Night
Live") has created a lighthearted
parody that still skewers the plas-
tered smiles, helmet hair and fake
seriousness of network news.
"Anchorman" takes playful and
easy shots, mocking cheesy '70s
culture: Everyone has Burt
Reynolds mustaches and polyester
suits and winks at the audience
knowingly.
Many of Ferrell's comedy con-
temporaries make cameos - Jack
Black ("School of Rock") makes a
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