Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

My Grade:  B+

The news team is back together for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and it’s bigger this time... because it’s NETWORK news! They are still the same quirky, womanizing news team, though, which is good news for fans of the first installment. This film also includes a number of throwbacks to its predecessor which work wonderfully. At just shy of 2 hours, though, it’s a bit too long with a few too many laugh-free streaks.

Our favorite anchorman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), gets fired from his job, his wife gets promoted, and he leaves her. With his life in shambles, he gets offered a job at a brand new 24-hour news station and he takes it. After assembling his lovable, albeit moronic news team from their various outlandish jobs that they turned to after they left the news, they head to New York. They don’t really fit in at this new station but they end up reshaping the way news is reported forever. Of course some assorted hijinks and some conflict within the news team make the story interesting and as ridiculous as ever, but it wouldn’t be Anchorman without that.

The problem with the film is not the comedy. It’s more of the same in a good way. Some of the more creatively nonsensical dialogue that you’ll ever see (“Andre the Giant gave a surprisingly nimble foot rub”). Some of the best examples of this kind of dialogue come from the amazingly funny and quasi-sweet scenes between Brick Tamland (comedic genius Steve Carell) and his unlikely love interest, Chani (the always hilarious Kristen Wiig). These were some of my favorite scenes in the entire film. There is also just enough substance in the film to make it relevant. It has a lot to say about mass media and the way news is reported but it doesn’t use a sledgehammer to drive its point home... it uses satire.

The problem is that the inevitable moment when Ron hits rock bottom (you know it’s going to happen because... well, it’s just is that kind of film) feels contrived. It leads to more of the hilarious, silly dialogue and unrealistic story lines that dominate the film, but it doesn’t work for me as a plot point. Honestly, I feel it’s a little to heavy for this kind of film. Also, the ‘love story’ involving Ron comes out of nowhere and doesn’t really affect the overall story. It provides some laughs (which is the point in a comedy... I get it) but it could have been done better and matter a little more in the grand scheme of the film.

Overall, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is a solid follow up to a comedy classic. It has a little substance and provides plenty of laughs despite its handful of flaws. Also, be on the look out for some awesome, unexpected cameos that were successfully kept under wraps during the marketing blitz for the film.