If you are in the mood for plenty of stupid humor, over the top laughs and inappropriate snickering, by all means soak up ANCHORMAN 2 for the holidays.
Will Ferrell continues the saga of news anchor Ron Burgundy, perhaps the most un-PC, unfiltered idiot to ever man a news desk.
Since the first film, Ron has married his former rival and co-anchor Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate). They rule the airwaves in San Diego and have had a son named Walter.
Early in the film, Network news legend Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford...yes, Harrison Ford having fun with his own image) decides to retire and gives Veronica the news desk, while firing Ron.
While she leaves to New York and her star rises, Ron becomes a lecherous, drunken announcer at Sea World.
Soon, the world's first 24 hour news network launches and comes calling for Ron. As he hits the road to bring together his old team, the laughs really kick into gear.
Steve Carrell nearly steals the film as Brick, the world's dumbest weatherman, who falls in love with his female match Chani, an office assistant so dumb she makes Brick look like a genius. Chani is played by Kristen Wiig in a pitch perfect, funny performance that somehow stays sweet without ever being serious.
Paul Rudd returns as news reporter Brian Fantana, who has become a famous cat photographer but rejoins Ron's team, along with Sports reporter Champ Kind, played for big laughs by David Keochner. Champ has spent his off air time developing a chicken restaurant that serves only fried bats. (a very funny visit from Ron ensues)
When the boys hit NYC after a wild RV ride east (nice cruise control Ron), they find themselves on the graveyard shift on air and battling to be noticed.
For an intentionally silly, stupid comedy, the screenplay by Ferrell and his frequent collaborator Adam McKay has a lot to say about 24 hour news cycles, infotainment, reality TV and our obsession with celebrity.
Ron falls for his African American boss Linda Jackson (Meagan Good) and the scene where she takes him home to her family and he can only utter seventies black cliches and jive is hilarious.
The Anchorman legend gets a bit long winded and a slow sequence in which Ron finds himself blind and living in a lighthouse, nursing a shark back to health, goes on WAY to long, almost defying you to believe they are going to remain on this storyline detour as long as they do. When they broke into the Dobey song, it was more head scratching than humorous.
But once Ron gets his sight back and heads back to Manhattan for the film's final 20 minutes, it regains it's comic footing and delivers plenty of belly laughs.
Fans of the rival news teams rumble in the first film will be in heaven here for the conclusion in which every news team on cable seems to have a team in the rumble, including Jim Carrey, Sasha Baron Cohen, Will Smith, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and about 100 other stars in cameos.
By the time Harrison Ford turned into a minotaur in the middle of the battle and Brick suddenly had a double barrel space weapon, I was laughing so hard I just went for the ride.
Ferrell is hilarious throughout and his timing is perfect, somehow managing to keep Ron just smart enough to see some of the absurdity around him, without the self realization to know he's the worst of the bunch.
Anchorman 2 manages to stay classy, San Diego. Leave your brain at the door and get ready to laugh. We'll give Burgundy and company a very funny B.
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