Anchorman 2: the Legend Continues Review
December 22, 2013 11:46 am | 1 Comment
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As 2013 began, there were two events that were going to make it one of the greatest years of my life. First: I was going to become a father for the first time in my life. Second: Anchorman 2: the Legend Continues would finally arrive in theaters. I own two copies of Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy just in case one of them stops working. It used to be one of my favorite movies when conducting my daily glaucoma treatments, but many things have changed since my domestication. Apparently, my ability to appreciate the trials and tribulations of San Diego’s favorite son is among many of my former interests that have now fallen away to maturity.
But let’s remain positive, shall we? Cameos are used well. The news team death match is the highlight of the film. I would call this a spoiler, but you have probably already seen the first film and all the funny bits are derived from callbacks to the original. Anchorman 2 reminds me of watching Alec Baldwin on Saturday Night Live still making jokes about “shweaty balls”. Once it was hilarious, now only nostalgic.
The film attempts to provide multiple levels of social commentary in the midst of all the absurdity. There are veiled references to Richard Branson, Rupert Murdoch, Walter Cronkite, and the influences they have on modern media. The more subtle message of the movie is that we as consumers seem to prefer entertainment that is more style than substance. We want our icons to be as outrageous as possible. The more despicable they are; the more we will love to hate them. Or possibly hate that we love them. Maybe I was just looking for some greater meaning in the two hour run time. I hope America proves their theory wrong. The screening that I saw was on a Saturday night at 10:30pm. There were only ten people in the theater.
Laughs are derived from much darker territory in the sequel including: domestic violence, abuse of women and children, racism, drug addiction, and disabilities. And that is just what happens to Ron Burgundy. Champ Kind is now a caricature of political conservatives. Brian Fantana has gone from self delusional ladies’ man to scummy, deadbeat dad. Thankfully, Brick Tamland’s plot line remains lighthearted as he falls in love with a female version of himself.
The greatest crime of Anchorman 2 is that I could not quote one single line from the movie, and I just saw it three hours ago. You could say that my expectations were so high for this film that it could never live up to them, but I would swear Will Ferrell and Adam McKay made a concerted effort to make me dislike one of my favorite foursomes in cinematic history. Unfortunately, it worked. If you would have told me one week ago, I would be writing these words; I would have said you were nuts. I give Anchorman 2 a very bummed out Toss It.
Yours Truly,
P. S. – SPECIAL THANKS TO CARMIKE CINEMAS IN PEORIA, IL FOR ALL THEIR HOSPITALITY AND PROFESSIONALISM. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST AND THE ONLY THEATER FOR ME. CHECK THEM OUT ON www.movietickets.com
Tags: adam mckay, anchorman 2: the legend continues, will ferrell
Categorised in: Movie Reviews, Random Reviews & News
This post was written by David Griffin
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