Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Movie Review
by Brian Wezowicz
When this movie was announced, I remember everyone being REALLY excited about it. I, however, had some mild trepidations about the project. For starters, comedy sequels are rarely good. They usually try to take what worked in the first one and repackage it as something bigger and funnier. I was blasted as being a "Negative Nancy" for stating that there haven't really been any truly great comedy sequels, and that I wasn't really excited for the return of San Diego's greatest newsman, Ron Burgundy. In just the past few years, we have seen the reputation of great comedy films (The Hangover) almost destroyed by their cash grabbing, putrid sequels (Part II & Part III). Throughout the history of comedy, we have seen this pattern over and over again (Ghostbusters 2, Caddyshack 2, Teen Wolf Too, & Blues Brothers 2000 to name a few). Why can't we seem to get a half decent comedy sequel? In my opinion, it's because truly great comedy seems to be the result of a series of events that need to come together perfectly. The script needs to be great. The right actors need to be cast. The director has to have a true passion for the source material. Duplicating these feats is an almost impossible task... And yet here we are again with one of the worst, least amusing comedy sequels of all time; Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.
Despite the above paragraph, the endless stream of trailers and promotional bits by star, Will Ferrell & Co. had me gradually come around to the notion of a second Anchorman movie. Those feelings were quickly doused minutes into this turd fest of a movie. Anchorman 2 picks up a few years after the events of the first movie with Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone living in New York City and anchoring the weekend newscast. When word comes that the network will be searching for a replacement for the soon to be retiring lead newsman (Harrison Ford in full cashing a paycheck mode), our power couple assumes the job will go to them. When it's revealed that only Veronica will be inheriting the chair, Ron Burgundy loses it and returns to San Diego, where his life and career spirals out of control. But, in the news world, there is always a second chance. Burgundy is approached to be a part of the first ever 24-hour news network, GNN. He quickly reunites the news team (seen through a couple of funny vignettes) and heads back to NYC. From here, the movie quickly unravels and never seems to find its footing. I won't bore you with the details since even writing a recap of this movie hurts my brain, but the basic premise is that the news team is stuck with the graveyard shift and needs to change up its format to compete for ratings. They basically give birth to the modern format of cable news we all know and love (or don't) today. There's shouting, and stories about America (Ahhhhmerica!). They load up the screen with graphics and scare you about the weather. They report on the news we want to hear, not the news we need to hear. This montage is really the highlight of an otherwise terrible movie. I wish they had stuck to this narrative instead of going off on a million different tangents that make no sense and provide little humor.
The major problem with this movie is that it seemed like there wasn't anyone there to tell them what worked and didn't work. The movie runs a LONG two hours and the script seems like it was written as a series of "wouldn't be funny if..." moments. Instead of focusing on an overall story arc, this movie plays like a series of SNL skits featuring Ron Burgundy. Wouldn't it be funny if Ron went blind? Sure. Wouldn't it be funny if the news team crashed a Winnebago because Ron didn't know what cruise control meant? Let's put it in the movie and find out. Wouldn't it be funny if Ron went blind, moved into a lighthouse, raised a beached shark with a milk bottle, and won his family back? Don't ask. This pattern went on, and on, and on, and on. Another problem with this movie is that there was wayyyy too much of Steve Carrell's lovable oaf, Brick Tambland. In the first movie, he came in to provide a few funny one liners, but he is over featured in this one. I grew tired of him about five minutes into this movie. If Ron is the lead character, then brick is his second in command. The other members of the news team unfortunately get pushed to the side so that Brick can get a love story with his female equivalent (played painfully unfunny by Kristen Wiig). I won't spoil the ending if anyone of you is unlucky enough to go see this pile of shit, but we get a repeat of the fight to the death with competing news team. There's a ton of cameos and they all seem forced.
I found myself listening to the laughter of the audience to see if I was the only one who wasn't in on the joke. The laughter felt like that uncomfortable laughter when someone is telling you a terrible joke and you only laugh because they are standing there in front of you. There wasn't a moment in the entire movie where the laughter drowned out the sound from the movie. The legend continued in the movie, but it probably should have stayed in San Diego.
I am giving this movie 1 star out of 4. There were a few chuckles spattered throughout the film, but nothing classic. If you MUST see this film, I suggest renting it when it comes out. If it weren't for the Hangover sequels, this would top my list of the most disappointing sequels in recent memory.
I still have a few more movies to see before the end of the year. Stay tuned for my list of the best & worst (I think we will see a certain film on that one) of 2013.
