Ron Burgundy said it best: “That will make one h*** of a story.” Although “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” failed to live up to that expectation, it does excel in both the humor and cameo departments.
“Anchorman 2” opens with Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) in a meeting with their boss, played by Harrison Ford, where he announces that Veronica will be the first lead anchorwoman in TV news, and Ron is fired. This leads Ron into a downward spiral into the pits of depression.
A failed job at Sea World and a botched suicide attempt later, Ron is approached by an executive from GNN, the world’s first 24-hour news channel, and offered a job. Hijinks ensue as he brings his old news team back together.
Ron, Brick (Steve Carell), Brian (Paul Rudd), and Champ (David Koechner) are stuck in the worst time slot, only to overcome it by telling the people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. This involves reporting stories about silicone breast implants and doing illegal drugs on camera.
Most people agree that “Anchorman 2” is hilarious, even funnier than the first. There are a few who think the movie was not that funny, but admit they laughed a few times.
Fan favorite scenes and jokes vary across the board. The scene where Ron keeps the RV on cruise control without steering, is undoubtedly funny. Ron thinking MTV is a disease also ranks. Nearly everything that comes out of Will Ferrell’s mouth evicts laughs.
Anything having to do with Brick hits the sweet spot between laughing your head off and rolling your eyes at the stupidity of it all. His funeral where he comes to the podium to say some kind words about his late self is one of the highlights.
However, the end fight scene between different news studios (reporters from other stations want to kill Ron over his increasing popularity) wins the “funniest scene” award. The fight stars Kanye West from MTV, John C. Reilly as the ghost of Stonewall Jackson, Liam Neeson from the History Channel, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler from Entertainment Tonight, Sacha Baron Cohen from BBC News, Jim Carrey and Marion Cotillard from CBC News, Will Smith from ESPN, Drake as a Ron Burgundy fan, and Kirsten Dunst as an angel. Even Vince Vaughn reprises his role as Wes Mantooth.
Both Will Ferrell and Steve Carell have mentioned the possibility of making a third Anchorman movie, which may have fans weighing pros and cons of such a decision. In the “for” column are reasons such as the great comedic actors and a great storyline, while the “against” column suggests it might take too long of a time period, with older actors and possibly slower wit.
The public has mixed answers, regarding if the movie lives up to their expectations. On one hand they said it was typical Will Ferrell and on par with the substance of his other movies. On the other hand, several scenes were missing that were in the trailers.
Was “Anchorman 2” as quotable as it’s predecessor? No. Was it funnier? Yes.
“Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” is a fair trade for handing over ten dollars to the theater.
