Is the long awaited sequel to the comedy cult worth the wait? Yes. Is Anchorman 2 better than the first? Upon a first watching no, it’s a 2 hour film, and for a comedy, that pushes the standard limit of the audience’s full attention. Can the new film stand alone and eventually ascend cult classic status? Maybe, it’s still a bit early to tell.
One of the biggest fears an audience has when a studio finally comes about making a long awaited sequel, is getting the full cast to return, and thankfully, Paramount Pictures (the parent studio) got the whole gang back together. Leading stars Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate come back to play Burgundy, Brick, Brian Fantana, Champ Kind, and the lovely Veronica Corningstone. Smaller roles make their return as well which (without spoilers) include barking Baxter and Fred Willard as Ed Harken. New-comers Meagan Good as Ron’s interracial lover and boss, along with James Marsden as an insufferable ass hole, and Kristen Wiig as Brick’s eventual wife who seems to be slightly off kilter as well, make a wonderful addition to the cast. There are loads of other guest appearances which will make you lose your mind when you see them. They are all perfectly framed and make sense, but I’m not going to tell you who they are, and I’ll ask you to steer clear of the IMDb website, because looking at the cast list would ruin the surprise.
There are also a reprisal of jokes, Baxter saves the day at some point, there’s an animal joke (instead of a bear fight, we get a shark attack), there’s loads of misogynistic jokes (one of which, as a female, I could not approve of, but the two guys I was with cracked up), and of course we get another fight scene. And this news team scuffle is by far the most climatic, amazing portion of the film.
Some of the gang was fairing much better than the other members.
The film’s formula is similar to the previous story line. Ron gets the gang back together after Veronica is promoted and Ron is fired by the legendary Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford) in New York City. Of course he has to travel back to the great city of San Diego to find his original news team because Ron was head-hunted to be a part of GNN (Global News Network, a spoof-off of CNN) hosted in New York City. The first news network to air news, 24/7 all the time, everyday, but of course, Ron and his laughable gang of misfits is getting the graveyard shift from 2 am-5 am. Ron gets into an argument with big man on campus Jack Lime (Marsden), and they end up making a bet on who will get the highest ratings, and of course, Jack has the prime time spot of 7 pm. Well thanks to this bet, Ron soon changes the face of television into what it is today. I won’t spoil everything for you though.
The formula continues with Ron rising back to the top, only to quickly crash and fall, to be left in the dust when a terrible accident happens, which was actually not of Ron’s doing. When Ron is at his lowest, his wife Veronica and young son Walter (about the age of 7 or 8) come back to nurse him back into a functional man while living in an old light house.
PERMS FOR EVERYONE! (I mean hey, it is almost the 80s.)
Well if you want to know more about how the legend continues at the end of the 70′s you’ll just have to got to the theaters and find out yourself! There are many, many times that the film will have you laughing your ass off, but I’m not sure if there are as many quotable lines as the original. Although, CinemaBlend.com seems to argue otherwise. I would prefer more oddball lines from Brick, and I wish that there would be a bit more Brian Fantana and Ed Harris, but alas, everything can’t be prefect. Ferrel and Adam McKay bring back just enough of the old jokes, while amping them up at the same time, and they add just enough new material to keep things interesting. There’s a lot to be said about the new Anchorman, and if your a fan of the original, you will probably enjoy watching the continuation of this nutty news team. But Beware, Anchorman 2 is no where near as good as the original.
