Genre
It is pretty clear from the costumes of the characters that the film is a comedy. This is because the actors playing these roles are generally well known, so the addition of a quirky moustache and humourous clothing indicates that the film is not one to be taken seriously. The mixture of serious, smirking and outright strange facial expressions also hints that this is a comedy. The seriousness of the center male indicates that he is the main protagonist, as does his extravagant clothing. The actors themselves, Paul Rudd and Will Ferrel, are known for playing comedic roles; so this is yet another clue as to the genre of the film. The fact that the cover is of four males gives away that the film is not a romance, nor does the inclusion of out-dated clothing suggest that it is an action movie. These features, along with the line tag line 'Staying classy...' ultimately tells the audience that it is a comedy film.
Representation
The fact that there are only photographs of men on the cover of this Film magazine suggests the gendered attitude of the film. We can assume that the protagonist of the film is a man, and we also assume it is the man in the center of the cover photo. These four men appear to be a stereotypical group of boys. There seem to be four very unique personalities represented in the cover photo, with the male character on the left looking seemingly 'bookish', and the fellow slightly to the right of him looking quite traditional and outspoken. The protagonist in the center comes of as very extravagant, the audience may assume his character to be quite pompous and arrogant. The male character on the far right appears to be inappropriate and rude. The staggered layering of the characters may also indicate each of their roles in the film. For example, the character behind the rest of the characters may be secondary and less important, whilst the protagonist at the front of the other characters is the most important.
Narrative
The film title 'Anchorman' is typeset in a bold sans-serif font, which is overlayed on top of the cover photo. The title gives a clue as to the theme of the movie, which we presume to be related to a news room or the job as a news anchorman. The inclusion of four male characters suggests that they are a friendship group, perhaps work colleagues. The characters' attire and over grown facial hair suggests the film is set in the 70's/early 80's, though this is just speculation. Like I mentioned earlier, the choice of clothing for each of the character's gives an insight into their personalities. The tag line 'Staying Classy...' suggests some sort of irony, which may suggest that the characters in the film aren't actually very classy at all - though the protagonist does look to be very well dressed (in a suit) and well groomed (you might say).
Audience
Because the cover photo is of classic and very well known A-list Hollywood actors, I would presume the target audience of this film is quite broad, possibly between 18 and 34 year olds. The reason I believe there to be quite a large audience is because the film is part of a franchise, with this being a second installment. The first movie was originally released in 2004. I believe the audience will be primarily males, possibly due to the fact that one of the main attractions of the film is the actors themselves - comedic actors such as Steve Carell carry a large male fan base. The cover is trying to resonate with viewers of the first Anchorman film. I think this as they have used the same styling of costume/hair/make-up as was seen in the first movie; which will be quite nostalgic for some audience members.
Media Language
The busy layout of the page indicates that this magazine is one which includes a lot of content. This is further realised as the feature 'Anchorman 2' is actually listed as part of a series entitled 'Our Ultimate Guide to Small and Big Screen'. The magazine's masthead is oversized and self-explanatory (the magazine is called 'Total Film', and it is a film magazine). The magazine features a total of 13 cover lines, with the feature 'Anchorman 2' taking most of the attention. Above the masthead there are several photographs which act as teasers for a feature within the magazine 'Ultimate TV & Movie Winter Preview'. Written quite small within the masthead area is the date and issue number, along with a link to their online website. We can see from the cover that the 3 colour rule has been generally stuck to, with is being yellow, black and red in this instance but with a small inclusion of blue.
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