Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Review

Rated PG-13 (Crude and Sexual Content, Drug Use, Language and Comic Violence)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 59 Minutes

Cast-

Will Ferrell-Ron Burgundy

Paul Rudd-Brian Fantana

Steve Carell-Brick Tamland

David Koechner-Champ Kind

Christina Applegate-Veronica Corningstone-Burgundy

Meagan Good-Linda Jackson

James Marsden-Jack Lime

Kristen Wiig-Chani Lastnamé

Greg Kinnear-Gary

Dylan Baker-Freddie Shapp

Josh Lawson-Kench Allenby

Judah Nelson-Walter Burgundy

Fred Willard-Edward 'Ed' Harken

Harrison Ford-Mack Tannen

Directed by Adam McKay

This is what "Anchorman" fans were doing when the sequel was finally announced.

Note: Screened on Sunday, December 15, 2013 at the Beacon Theatre (Red Carpet Premiere).

'I don't know how to put this, but I'm kind of a big deal.' A tongue-in-cheek riff on the 'action news' format that was popularized during the 1970's, director Adam McKay's 2004 comedy "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" received lukewarm reviews (66% on Rotten Tomatoes) upon its release and was only a mild box office success with its $90.6 million worldwide gross but the buffoonish antics of Will Ferrell's titular character struck a chord with audiences and once the film arrived on home video, Burgundy and the rest of the Channel Four News Team were transformed, as IGN's Lucy O'Brien puts it, into 'gods of modern pop culture.' Ferrell's particular brand of comedy is largely hit-and-miss with me—he's either very funny or completely unfunny—so I don't hold "Anchorman" in such a high regard compared to other people. While there are definitely some laugh-out-loud moments, McKay's film just isn't as hilarious as its reputation seems to suggest. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel and after waiting for nine long years, their wish is finally coming true with the release of "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues." Given that comedy sequels rarely live up to the original, e.g. 2011's "The Hangover Part II," I went into the advance screening with low expectations but twenty minutes later, I was laughing my butt off. Although the film overstays its welcome with its two-hour running time and suffers from a patchy script, "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" succeeds in the rare task of being better than its predecessor, with McKay taking the outrageous, absurdist tone of the original even further and providing not only plenty of laughs but also some clever satire as well.

Set at the dawn of the 1980s, married news anchors Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) have risen through the ranks since their humble days in San Diego, with the couple now working for a prestigious news network in New York City while also raising their precocious six-year-old son Walter (Judah Nelson). When their boss, famous evening news anchor Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford), announces his retirement, he promotes Veronica as his replacement, making her the first female nightly news anchor in the history of television. Ron is overjoyed and believes that Tannen will give him a similar promotion but he is fired instead, with the veteran news anchor declaring him to be 'the worst newsman I have ever seen.' A jealous Ron tries to force his wife to choose him or the job but Veronica has already made her decision. Six months later, Ron is working as an announcer at San Diego's Sea World. After making a series of crude comments, he is fired once again and attempts to commit suicide. Just when he's at his lowest point, opportunity comes knocking on Ron's door in the form of Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker), who wants him to return to New York City and work for GNN, the world's first twenty-four hour news network. Ron initially finds it to be a stupid idea but immediately accepts the offer once he sees his weekly salary. Reassembling his former Channel Four news team—Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Champ Kind (David Koechner), and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell)—Ron struggles to break out of the graveyard shift he's been given and impress his new boss Linda Jackson (Meagan Good) while also dealing with a rival named Jack Lime (James Marsden).

For the past nine years, fans have been begging for a sequel to "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" but their extreme love for the first film inevitably puts "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" at a severe disadvantage. Paramount's relentless marketing campaign already overburdens McKay's follow-up with unreasonably high expectations, which has been steadily building up for almost a decade. Comedy sequels often end up vastly inferior to the original and the opening scenes in "Anchorman 2" doesn't initially appear to buck this trend, leaving me worried that McKay had simply made a lazy, uninspired cash-in. A montage of Ron Burgundy repeatedly flubbing his on-air readings of the teleprompter, which leads to his firing by Harrison Ford's Mack Tannen, offers a few chuckles but has a feeling of been there, done that. Even seeing him reunite with Champ Kind doesn't produce much laughs, with the whole bit involving Champ's fried chicken business actually selling fried bats to customers coming across as strained and worse, painfully unfunny. Fortunately, the sequel starts to pick up steam when Ron, Brian, and Champ attend Brick's funeral. Of course, how can Brick be dead given Steve Carell's second-billing status and his prominence in the film's marketing campaign? The answer is he isn't but Brick, being the child-like imbecile that he is, seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that he's alive, leading to a hilarious moment where his friends have to exasperatingly remind him of who he is. While I may not regard the original "Anchorman" as a comedy classic, I did enjoy its silly, chaotic randomness, which lent the picture its unpredictability. Having Brick attend his own funeral and even deliver a eulogy to himself is about as random as you can get and from that point on, "Anchorman 2" is just one laugh after another as it revels in its own absurdly cartoonish world.

McKay and Ferrell's script largely exists as an excuse to string along a series of increasingly ridiculous comic set-pieces but there is a story in a very loose sense of the word. Although it doesn't exactly break any new ground and once again finds Ron falling victim to his own hubris, it does make some surprisingly sharp observations about how 'dumbed down' television journalism has become. After challenging James Marsden's Jack Lime to a ratings war, Ron and his friends struggle to find something worthy to report on in their time slot. In a moment of enlightenment, he suggests that rather than telling people what they need to know, they should just tell people what they want to hear. Instead of informing viewers on 'boring' topics like foreign affairs and economics, Ron decides to run a fluff piece on how great America is, with Champ simply showing random clips of home runs while repeatedly yelling his catchphrase, Brick speculating wildly on the weather, and Brian discussing the best vaginas in the world. Ron's approach proves to be a massive hit and beat Jack's ratings by a wide margin. Soon, other news networks desperately scramble to emulate them. From smoking crack cocaine while on the air to reporting on random car chases, the 'news' that Ron and his team choose to focus on feel right at home in the inane, absurdist world that the "Anchorman" films inhabit but what makes these silly antics so funny is that it's based in truth. Modern news channels are often more concerned with higher ratings than preserving journalistic integrity. Headlines are commonly sensationalistic and misleading, with stories suffering from wild speculation and at times, distracting graphics. We may laugh at Ron Burgundy's loud personality and narrow-minded ignorance but the joke's really on us and that's where the comedic genius in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" lies in.

Despite the nine-year gap, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner slip comfortably back in their old roles like they never left them in the first place. Ferrell is at his funniest here with his character's ad-libbed, nonsensical exclamations and one of the most memorable scenes in the film is when Ron's boss Linda, whom he is dating, invites him to her parent's house for dinner. What follows is sheer lunacy as Ron's attempts at 'breaking down the barriers of race by assimilation' come across like a reversed, manic version of 1967's "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" Although some viewers may be turned off by the film's crude humor, it's never mean-spirited or nasty. We forgive Ron's use of offensive stereotypes because we know it comes from a place of wide-eyed naivety. Paul Rudd and David Koechner are sadly underutilized, with their characters relying on familiar gags but Steve Carell, now a bona fide movie star, enjoys an expanded role in the form of a romantic subplot with Kristen Wiig's Chani Lastnamé (I'm not even kidding as that is seriously her surname). Their bizarre love story, combined with Carell's penchant for non-sequiturs, form one of many hilarious bits in the film. Christina Applegate is disappointingly sidelined from the main plot for much of the film's running time but newcomer Meagan Good more than makes up for it as Ron's sexually aggressive boss and love interest. His initial reaction to her, which I won't spoil, is absolutely priceless. James Marsden and Greg Kinnear prove themselves to be a perfect fit for the loony reality that "Anchorman" exists in. Just like its predecessor, the sequel includes a ludicrous fight scene, only on a much more epic scale. Its chock full of cameos that you'll have to discover for yourself but suffice to say, it's laugh-out-loud hilarious, even if it is a retread.

Released on December 18, 2013, "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" has received positive reviews with a solid 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that the sequel 'may not be quite as quotable, [but] it's nearly as funny as its predecessor.' Given that fans have been demanding for McKay to do a follow-up for the past nine years, "Anchorman 2" is all but guaranteed to be a box office success and is looking at a five-day debut around $45 to $50 million. It's going to enjoy a long, successful run in theaters due to the relative lack of compelling fare in January. "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" doesn't make the best first impression but it quickly finds its footing as it gleefully pokes fun at what modern television journalism has become while also providing plenty of silly comic set-pieces. This sequel most definitely 'stays classy,' even more so than the original.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

"By the hymen of Olivia Newton-John!"