As Ron Burgundy made his rounds around the world of public media, “Anchorman” fans patiently awaited the release of “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” After nine years since the release of “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” fans will not be disappointed. Director Adam McKay is able to recapture the signature immature humor of the first film.
“Anchorman 2” takes place many years after the first film. Ron (Will Ferell) and Veronica (Christina Applegate) are now married and continue their anchor jobs in New York City. When Ron is fired from the network, he falls into a deep depression until he is approached for a job at Global News Network, the first 24-hour news network in history. Ron and his news team are forced to deal with competition from other networks and a rivalry with GNN anchor Jack Lime (James Marsden).
While Ferell continues his stellar performance as Ron Burgundy, Steve Carell provides phenomenal acting as Brick Tamland, the news team’s eccentric weather expert. While Brick provided some comedic value in the first film, his role grows tremendously in the sequel, and it adds greatly to the film’s humor.
What seems to be disappointing to most people is the lack of deviation from the comedic structure of the first film. McKay and Ferell, the film’s writers, stick to the same humor as the original, but even so, manage to keep the film’s jokes original.
Perhaps the most notable nod to the first film is the brawl between the several news teams. In the original “Anchorman,” Ron and his news team inadvertently start a massive brawl after picking a fight with their biggest rival team. “Anchorman 2” includes a similar scene, but with different news teams and more appearances by Hollywood stars.
Despite its comedic nature, “Anchorman 2” offers some serious insight into broadcast journalism. Throughout the film, Ron boosts his ratings by giving the audience “what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.” Eventually, he realizes that this defeats the purpose of the news and refuses to continue with the “fluff.” This offers some resounding commentary on the state of modern news.
Overall, “Anchorman 2” is a funny and light-hearted follow-up to one of the most quotable movies of all time. While it may not have totally surpassed its predecessor, it certainly came close.
This is Kyle Sommerfield signing off. Stay classy, Huntley.