In
2004 a little movie came out called “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and
no one saw it. Staring Will Ferrell as a 1970’s style Newsman, who was about a
smart as a rock, it was a box office failure. Then something funny happened,
the movie came out on DVD and people discovered it. It was the kind of movie
you would watch with friends and recite line after line with each other, in
other words it became it hit. Ron Burgundy became a name most people recognized
and Will Ferrell became a star. So nine years later can the magic be caught as on
the first go around? Or is it destined to never live up to the original?
Nine
years is a long time for anything, and a lot has changed since 2004. Things
like TV’s got thinner, cell phones have gotten better, and pretty much everyone
involved with the original film became a bigger star. So what has been
happening with our favorite San Diego News Team? Well Ron (Will Ferrell) and Veronica
(Christina Applegate) are married and hosting a news program in New York.
Everything is perfect until Veronica is offered the lead anchor position,
without Ron, and Ron is fired, for being the worst newsman ever. Ron goes back
to San Diego, and after a failed attempt at a job at SeaWorld, Ron is offered a
job for a new kind of news network, a twenty-four hour one. Ron tracks down the
old team, Brick (Steve Carell), Brian (Paul Rudd), and Champ (David Koechner),
to join him at his new job. Once there Ron decides that he shouldn’t tell
people what he thinks they want to hear, but instead tell them exactly what
they want to hear. So no more bad news, instead his news cast is filled with
puppies, car chases, and everything that is right with America. His plan is a
success, and Ron climbs to the top of the news world, but being Ron, he finds a
way to fall back down. So apparently we have Ron Burgundy to thank for the
state of our news today.
When the
original Anchorman came out in 2004, there were no expectations. The film was
written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, who were able to throw a bunch of
things at the wall to see if any of them stuck. Well what looked like a failure
became a gold mine, and would only help both in their future films together.
What would they do with expectations? Would they try too hard to capture the
magic of the first film? Well let me try and answer those questions.
The expectations did not hurt the film at all; it honors
the first film by staying true to it. As for capturing the magic of the first
film, that is where the film stumbles. With this film, it feels too often that
they are trying, where as with the first it never felt that way. Now don’t get
me wrong, there are plenty of laughs in this film, but not nearly the kinds
that will keep you coming back. With comedies it is all about repeat viewings,
when you love a good comedy you want to watch it over and over. The original
film had that, but with “Anchorman 2” I think one viewing is enough. With all
that said, it is worth seeing, because you will get plenty of laughs out it and
you will leave with a smile on your face. It is hard to live up to a classic
that so many people enjoy, and all though not as good as the
original, Ron Burgundy still finds a way to stay classy.
Brian Taylor
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