ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

Stars: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Meagan Good, Josh Lawson, James Marsden, Dylan Baker, Greg Kinnear, Kristen Wiig and Harrison Ford.
Writers: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
Director: Adam McKay.

Rating: 2.5/5

Will Ferrell’s maroon-hued egomaniac, legendary newsman Ron Burgundy finds nirvana in the early days of the 24-hour news cycle in Adam McKay’s loose-limbed, indulgent sequel. The ensemble seems to be having fun and there are some scattered belly laughs, but the truly inspired nuttiness that made the first Anchorman a cult hit is in short order.

Burgundy has shifted his base from San Diego to New York, where he has established a successful on-air partnership with his wife, Veronica (Christina Applegate). When she is offered the prime time gig to which he felt entitled, Ron descends into a deep depression, hitting rock bottom as a foul-mouthed announcer at SeaWorld. These early scenes are well paced (and feature a fun cameo from Harrison Ford) but don’t strongly establish an inspired reason to revisit Burgundy’s world.

That reason finally manifests in the form of the Global News Network, a soon-to-launch network financed by Aussie millionaire Kench Allenby (Josh Lawson) and headed by strong-willed Linda Jackson (Meaghan Good). Despite his fall from grace, Burgundy is (rather implausibly) given free rein to bring back his old crew – boisterous sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner), reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and knuckle-headed weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell).

The overriding gag is that Burgundy’s ‘lowest common denominator’ approach to broadcasting gave birth to the ‘news-as-entertainment’ era; when Burgundy utters, “Why do we have to give people what they need and not what they want?,” dollar signs register with the new network. It is the sequel’s only meaningful attempt at thoughtful satire; in all other regards, McKay and Ferrell’s script is utterly reliant upon puerile silliness and the improvisational skills of its cast.

The best bits are between Carell and guest star Kristen Wiig as like-minded dimwits who fall in love; Rudd has some moments, but Koechner is background noise and Applegate, Greg Kinnear (as Veronica’s new man) and James Marsden (as Ron’s rival) are relegated to bit player contributions. Most troubling is Ferrell’s energy in the lead role. He is older (and looks it) and struggles to recapture the youthful brashness he brought to the part almost 10 years ago. Burgundy 2013 doesn’t inspire laughs as much as he does pity, the casual misogyny and racism that suited the first film’s tone now appearing boorish and outdated.

Anchorman 2 eventually finds a kind of Python-esque craziness in the final third, when disparate elements such as temporary blindness, a great white shark pup and a ‘white bronco’ police chase factor into the denouement. The best reason to see the film is a nonsensical but hilarious sequence that has Ron and his posse facing off against newsmen from the cable network channels. It could be the greatest sequence of cameos in film history and is presented with such fresh vigour that it feels like the inspiration for the entire project.

Comments

[Mark]

The brawl went far too long and wrong.