It's been nine long years since "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" graced movie screens and despite being a modest hit when released, the following the comedy would garner reached cult-like status.
So how is the highly-anticipated sequel to a comedy classic? Well...it's hard to say. The movie is funny, don't get me wrong, but it falls short of reaching the comedic summit the original supplanted. Does that make it a bad movie? Absolutely not! But you can see what the movie tried to do and where it was trying to capitalize. Namely rehashing the best parts of the original.
Before I get to my biggest problem with the movie, let's quickly breakdown the story. The sequel finds both Ron (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) in New York City, broadcasting for a new station. They are married and have a son, but they are still trying to make it in the big city. However, when the owner of the news station decides to promote Veronica and fire Ron -- who gives the ultimatum to take the job or lose him -- the marriage dissolves. After some time away, Ron gets the team back together when he's offered a job at a new 24 hour news channel.
It's a very sound story...if that was it. But unfortunately the story becomes too jumbled for its own good, turning from a story about Ron being a small fish in a big city to one of hubris and the shape of the news and there's a shark and eventually he learns the value of family. It's pretty convoluted. But one shouldn't expect a great story from a comedy, especially one like Anchorman, if the jokes and situations make up for it. And "Anchorman 2" does have its moments that culminates into an ending sequence that words won't do justice, it's that amazing. However, while the movie has its moments there are some visible missteps.
My biggest problem with the movie is that the writers tried too hard to deliver on what made the first installment of the legend of Ron Burgundy -- namely the one liners that you quote with your friends over and over -- so great. Lines similar to the iconic "By Odin's beard!" are sprinkled throughout the film, and are generally hit or miss.
The worst offender is Steve Carrell's Brick Tamland. In the original, he was the news team member with the least amount of lines. This benefited the character because when he did speak, the lines were perfectly delivered. This time around, Carrell was given a bigger part in this film, which was a mistake. Brick's mannerisms and outbursts were better in small doses. Some points of the movie had me grinding my teeth at how annoying his character was.
The other members of Burgundy's news team, Chip Kind (David Koechner) and Brian Fontana (Paul Rudd), don't have much to do in this movie but both actors do perform their roles well and have some genuinely funny moments. Applegate's Veronica Corningstone had a lesser role this time around and it was a shame considering how well she played off of Ferrell in the original.
Some new additions to the cast were surprisingly funny. Linda Jackson (Meagan Good) is Ron's love interest and her "straight man" persona worked well with Ferrell's outlandish behavior. Some of the best scenes of the movie were the inappropriate racism that Ron showcased.
The villain of this film was Jack Lime played by James Marsden. Another pleasant surprise, the banter between Lime and Burgundy were hysterical and looked to build into something truly great . Unfortunately, the filmmakers seemed to forget all about Lime half way through the movie until the aforementioned climax.
Overall, "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" is a worthy -- yet flawed -- addition to the Anchorman franchise. Despite its shortcomings in regards to story -- and occasional overbearing jokes -- the good outweigh the bad with genuinely gut busting moments and visuals. The returning actors seemed to slip right back into their roles seamlessly and the newcomers brought their comedic A-games. And the epic final act is worth the price of admission alone.
7/10
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