Comedy sequels are hard to pull off. Especially, when in a case like this, the sequel comes out years later. Because of this, going in to this, I had very low expectations. Luckily, Anchorman 2 is hilarious. There are lot’s of hilarious 80’s references and they are great as are the satrical jokes about what modern news has become. It does feel a lot like the original at times with plot points and jokes, but it partially works as one of the best scenes with the best cameos in the whole movie is a result of this.
Anchorman 2 opens as Ron Burgandy (Will Ferrel) and Veronica (Christina Appelgate) are doing the weekend news. They are called upstairs to their boss Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford). He promotes Veronica to lead national anchor and fires Ron. They leave and head home and begin fighting about their carrers. Ron says that she either has to choose the job or him. She chooses the job and leaves Ron. Cut to 6th months later where Ron is working at Seaworld, is drinking, and is miserable. He attemps to hang himself on a flourcscent light but is rescued by Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker) a news producer for GNN. He tells Ron that he wants Ron to join GNN which is the first 24 hour news network. He hires Ron and tells him to get his own news team. Ron then drives in his RV with Baxter to go to Champ (David Kochner), who was fired from news and started Whammy Chicken. Ron recruits Champ and then goes to get Brian (Paul Rudd) who is a photographer. They recruit Brian and Ron asks where Brick (Steve Carell) is. Brian says he is dead and they go to his funeral. But Brick is really alive. The news team then goes to NYC to go back to news reporting.
Anchorman 2 is hilarious. It opens with a funny cameo and the humor keeps on going. The character introductions are hilarious. The rest of the movie is fun as well. There are also great references. The references are 80’s pop culture and are sometime subtle and sometimes very obvious. They are some of the strongest jokes in the movie. The rest of the strongest parts are the satire of modern news. With the premise, there are many opportunties for jokes and commentary on modern news and there are. This is one of the best aspects as it works very well. This makes Anchorman 2 a little more than a normal stupid comedy.
There are still stupid aspects. Some of the comedy is very stupid and over the top. Because of this, some secnes go on for way too long and aren’t funny. At times, it also feels too much like the original. A lot of plot points and progression of the plot feel way too similar and uncreative. There are some original elements but it feels like a repeat. Luckily, it is not all bad as one of the funniest scenes of the whole movie is a result of this. That secne also contains fantastic cameos but comes too late into the movie. Overall, Anchorman 2 is a fun and dumb familar sequel.
Anchorman 2 is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, drug use, language and comic violence. I give Anchorman 2 an anchoring B.
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