Review #735: 'Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues' (2013)

Rehashing comedy formulas seems to be the go-to approach of recent years, especially for sleeper hits. One of the last decade's most successful comedies - both critically and commercially - The Hangover (2009), rode it's success to the tune of over $1.4 billion, managing to squeeze not one, but two sequels out of little more than re-telling the same jokes in slightly different ways. A whopping 9 years after Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), comes the long-awaited sequel. The budget has been upped, the running-time stretched, and the improvisation isn't nicely spattered throughout the film, but seems to define it. But director Adam McKay and actor Will Ferrell, who both co-wrote the film, seems to think it's army of dedicated fans want to see their favourite characters do the same thing all over again.

So, rather than Ron (Ferrell) having comical conversations with his pet dog Baxter, he rescues a shark he names Doby and cradles him like a baby. This time, Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) wows his co-workers with his condom cabinet, rather than a collection of rare (and illegal) after shaves. There's another ridiculous flute performance, but this time on an ice rink in a scene that looks like it was left on the Blades of Glory (2007) cutting-room floor. And one of the most memorable moments from the first film - the cameo-filled news-anchor street fight - is done again, but the cameo's come from Oscar-winners, superstars, a manticore, and a douchebag pop star. Only everyone forgot to make it funny. I'm admittedly being harsh, as although Anchorman 2 is not a patch on its predecessor (which I find overrated anyway), it's still funnier than the vast majority of the pap that Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson churn out what seems like every month.

Years after the first film, Ron and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), now his wife, are co-hosts at a successful New York news network. When their boss Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford) announces he is to retire, he promotes Veronica to fill his spot and fires Ron for his frequent on-air follies. Jealous of his wife, Ron forces Veronica to choose him or the job, to which she chooses the latter, leaving Ron to storm out on his son Walter (Judah Nelson), and take a job at Sea World. When he is fired for having a meltdown, and a failed suicide attempt, he is offered job at a new 24-hour news station by Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker). After accepting, Ron rounds up his old team Champ Kind (David Koechner), Brian Fantana, and the presumed-dead Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), who turns up at his own funeral.

While the first film didn't have much of a plot, it still had the theme of gender equality holding it together, and had a romance to root for in Ron's chest-beating buffoon and Veronica's strong-minded, self-made woman. Anchorman 2 tackles the rise of flashy, popcorn news, where stats and news bulletins whizz up and down every side of the screen and the anchor gives us stories of cute animals, acts of patriotism, and high-speed car chases. It was the day Edward R. Murrow rolled in his grave, and Ron, after a desperate war of words with greaseball prime-time anchor Jack Lime (the very funny James Marsden), catapults this idea and sees his ratings sky-rocket. Jack Lime is forced to rename himself Jack Lame (or Lamé). While this idea gives the film a backbone, it avoids really tackling the repercussions of this new sensationalist approach, which was a kick in the groin to intelligent, serious news casting.

There's also a new romance that sees Brick Tamland thrown into the spotlight. While Carell is a very talented performer, the laughs he tries to squeeze out of his awkward scenes with love interest Chani (Kristen Wiig) seem desperate and forced, and these scenes frequently descend into unfunny anarchy or being weird for the sake of being weird. It is only in its final quarter when the film picks up on the laughs, making Ron blind and holed up in isolation. It's a bizarre tangent, even featuring a song about Doby the shark, but, alas, it works, and Ron even finds his humanity and bonds with his son, making it oddly sweet. This will not have the same success as the first film, which has since becomes a cult classic, and the fans certainly weren't appeased (the reviews on IMDb are outright angry), but it's simply not bad, and amusing enough throughout to warrant everyone at least giving it a fair shot.


Directed by: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Dylan Baker, Meagan Good, Judah Nelson, James Marsden, Kristen Wiig, Greg Kinnear
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #730: 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' (2004)

Will Ferrell is a very funny man. He has the ability to squeeze comedy gold out of the raising of an eyebrow or a silly accent, and usually steals whatever film he appears in, regardless of how long he's in it for. Somehow, his movies tend to be bad, relying on juvenile behaviour and frat-house antics for laughs, which would be fine if any real thought was put into it. Anchorman is a sort of different, mixing childish humour with first-class improvisation from some of the most talented comedy performers working at the moment, and featuring one of Ferrell's most inspired creations. Based on real-life anchorman Harold Greene, who had a talent for sharp suits and a formidable 70's 'tache, Ron Burgundy is an egotistical, chauvinistic and narcissistic ass, but boy can he read the news.

In the male-dominated workspace of 70's 'action news', Burgundy and his troupe are the cream of the crop in San Diego. Burgundy delivers the news, Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) is the lecherous field reporter, 'Champ' Kind (David Koechner) is the loud-mouthed sexist sports reporter, and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) is an innocent with an IQ of 48, delivering the weather and being led astray by the groups antics. Everything seems harmonious until the arrival of the beautiful and ambitious Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate). Ron falls for her and she for him, until the word 'diversity' is introduced into the newsroom, and Ron finds himself with a new co-anchor.

Ron thinks that 'diversity' is an old wooden ship used in the Civil War era, a joke no doubt the product of multiple takes and the actors playing around with their lines. Due to this heavy reliance of improvisation, the film is scattershot and random, and by playing with the rules of random, as many jokes fall flat as they cause you to burst out in fits of laughter. So for every spontaneous accapella version of 'Afternoon Delight' or Burgundy wailing over the loss of his beloved dog Baxter, we have Koecher trying to squeeze laughs out of an unfunny character or an extended joke about Fanatana wearing Sex Panther, a rare and banned after shave which just happens to smell awful.

Anchorman's main success comes from, surprisingly, Christina Applegate. It was one of the first modern comedies to really put some thought into its female character, and rather than her playing the role of whiny other half trying to get her man to behave and grow up, she is vital in bringing to life this dark era of male-dominated office spaces, and she accepts Ron for the buffoon that he is. In the ten years since its release, it has garnered a huge cult following, and led to the release of it's sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues earlier this year. Though I don't share the hype surrounding this film, it's still a consistently funny oddity, and most probably Ferrell's best comedy work.


Directed by: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Vince Vaughn
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie