A long-awaited sequel to the cult-favorite "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" finally hit theatres nine years after the original. "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" expands on the tale of Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), the famous, or rather, infamous, news anchor of the 1970s.
Featuring the outrageous style of the 1970s, Burgundy, after marrying Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) and having child Walter, the family moves to New York. When Veronica is offered a nightly news desk spot, at the same time Burgundy is fired, he insists she choose between him and the desk. Who can blame her, when she chooses the desk over her pompous, bumbling husband?
After six months, Burgundy is offered a spot at the revolutionary new 24-hour news channel GNN (Global News Network). Despite doubts, he gathers back the old team of Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) and Champ Kind (David Koechner) to take on the network and Veronica.
Despite facing internal challenges from the likes of pretty-boy Jack Lime (James Marsden) and sexual advances from his boss Linda Jackson (Meagan Good), Burgundy and the team inadvertently revolutionize the news, by giving the people what they want, rather than what they need.
This statement, as well as how the news is information for the people to keep the powers that be in check, is the underlying meaning. The parody of the news network as the force-feeding machine it is, just as how corruption and shady-dealings are present when power is at stake, provides entertainment for those catching the winks to the mirror it is holding up to reality.
I’ll admit this: I am no great fan of Will Ferrell’s. Then again, at this rate, I am no great fan of the comedy genre at the rate it’s going. The genre’s reliance on racial and sexual jokes has become such that any movie without them is now seen as not funny to general audiences.
"Anchorman" is laden with racial jokes, stemming from the fact that Linda Jackson is a black woman, and the scene where Burgundy has dinner with her family is cringe-worthy at the sheer weight of the racial jokes.
Two scenes in the whole movie provided the extent of the funny. A scene at the beginning, with a slow motion Winnebago rollover accident featuring the team flying around, gave me some hope for the film, but the laugh-free stretch that consists of the middle of the film crushed any and all of that.
The redeeming scene was in mimicry of the original, with a battle taking place between the groups of different types of news. The number of cameos in this scene, from known comedians, to those less known for their comedic chops, was a joy to behold in its wackiness. From Jim Carrey, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey to Marion Cotillard and Liam Neeson, more and more faces pop up in the end of the movie than were laughs for the duration of more than two hours.
And it’s a sad day when a movie featuring some of the comedic greats has to depend on cameos for a laugh.
"Anchorman 2:The Legend Continues" earns a C from me. It is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, drug use, language and comedic violence.
