ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES
***
DIRECTED BY Adam McKay
STARS Will Ferrell, Steve Carell
By the hymen of Olivia Newton-John! A sequel that’s better than the original? I don’t know how to put this, but that’s kind of a big deal.
While many folks have loved 2004’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy since day one, I trashed it upon its original release, only reevaluating it years later after countless friends who likewise dissed it assured me it was better on a second viewing. They were right: The laughs suddenly seemed more smart-stupid and less stupid-stupid, and the lunkheaded protagonists were easier to take this time around. Happily, there’s no lag time when it comes to enjoying Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, as this one’s a champ (no, not Champ Kind) right out the gate.
Newscasters Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) are now married and have a young son, but things turn sour when the network head (the first of many amusing cameos) promotes Veronica to the national desk and fires Ron. This leads Ron to a drunken gig at SeaWorld (an icky and unfortunate partnership for the studio and the film, given that heinous organization’s inhumane treatment of animals; see the excellent documentary Blackfish), but it’s not long before he’s offered the chance to serve as an anchor for the world’s first 24-hour news network — a concept that Ron declares is the stupidest idea he’s ever heard. But he takes the job, assembling his old team in the process: sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner), weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) and newshound Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd).
As these jokers attempt to make it in the brave new world of around-the-clock news, Ferrell and director Adam McKay, sharing screenplay duties, manage to inject their tale with jabs at numbing media saturation, crooked Australian moguls and sensationalism passed off as real news. None of these are exactly fresh subjects — for starters, 1987’s Broadcast News expertly tackled that last-named in one single sequence — but it demonstrates that there’s subtext here for anyone who wants to look. But, of course, who really wants to look? Comedy is king here, and much of Anchorman 2 is uproarious, from a great bit involving scorpions and bowling balls to an outdoor skirmish like in the first film, only with more guest appearances (Oscar winners, A-listers, TV stars; it’s an embarrassment of riches). Carell again steals the show as the thick-as-a-brick Brick — his character is even romantically paired with an equally dense woman played by Kristen Wiig — but really, everyone gets into the spirit of silliness, and some of them even manage to stay classy while doing so.
Related Stories
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2013.
this movie sucked and this review is ridiculous. the fight scene at the end was so stupid it felt like the actors were just laughing at all the suckers in the audience. the first anchorman is funnier every time you watch it. the sequel is lazy beyond belief – wait for it at redbox and at least you won’t overpay.
I agree with your assessment of this guy’s review. I’m not sure what movie he saw, but the first Anchorman was at least mostly funny, this one sucked. Absolutely sucked! What a huge disappointment as it was almost completely unfunny. And I was in a good mood for some crazy Will Farrell humor and I want my $8.50 back. The attempts at humor bordered on embarrassing and while I love Steve Carrell and Kristin Wigg, they blew it. Carrell’s character was a completely irritating imbicile and hard to stomach this time around, and Wigg’s character was a joke. I was expecting the director to break in any time during their exchanges and say “ok, once more from the top, and this time, say something remotely humorous.” I see so many good reviews on this site, and I’m baffled! Whewww, I feel better. This is at best a Redbox buckaroo.
I was trying to figure out how in the hell you found a single thing in this horribly corny and humorless movie funny to the point that you invoked superlatives, but then the fact that you somehow think a statement like “…By the hymen of Olivia Newton-John!” is somehow funny pretty much explains it… You are CLEARLY on the studios payroll to sing the praises of this toilet paper of a movie.
Hi, Harkon. You astutely figured it out: I AM on the studio’s payroll, although the check is late in arriving due to the holidays. 🙁
Cheers!