Ron Burgundy established himself as a broadcasting legend in 2004's Anchorman and now that legend continues with Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues! Will Ferrell returns as the infamous newsman alongside Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate in a comedy once again directed by Adam McKay.
With a new decade comes new challenges and the one and only Ron Burgundy (Farrell) finds himself not taking to the 80's very well as his wife Veronica (Applegate) is given the national gig in New York that he felt he was destined to eventually take over. Retreating back to san Diego, Ron finds himself at the end of his rope until producer Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker) offers him a position at a brand new 24 hour news station that is about to go on the air for the first time in television history.
With new opportunities comes new challenges and Ron finds the first to be rival newscaster Jack Lime (James Marsden) who seems to have everything going for him like talent, good looks, and charm. Ron must also deal with his ambitious and attractive new boss Linda Jackson (Meagan Good) as well as coming up with a news format that will work for his newly reunited news team. With so much at stake, the man with many leather bound books will need to take his game to new heights if he hopes to be successful in a decade filled with new technology and new ideals.
Will Ferrell is a very funny guy. We all know that and when he is on his game, he is basically unstoppable. The problem I have with his movies is there is often an equal amount material that is bad to mediocre as there is the hilarious stuff which makes him so good and this movie is a prime example of that dilemma. There were times when I was laughing so hard, I thought I might burst but there were also extended portions of the movie that were downright painful or literally putting me to sleep.
Fans of the original movie will most likely enjoy this one just as much as it is very similar although I felt not nearly as good. Before sitting down to write this review, I had talked to a few people that loved it and a few that thought it was just okay which is the side that I fall on. There is just too much stuff that doesn't work for me to put it on the same level as the first Anchorman but I would by no means say its a bad movie.
For me, the main issue was the two hour run time which is about a half hour too long for a movie that is basically sketch comedy loosely strung together by an overarching narrative. I'd go into more detail about what I didn't like but that would go into spoiler territory which I do not allow myself to do. One of the highlights, again I have to be vague here, is the abundance of surprise cameos that turn up, mainly towards the end of the movie. There is one sequence in particular that is flat out jaw dropping for this and a few other reasons. You'll know what I mean when you see it.
Even though this was an enjoyable film, I can't help but feel disappointed in a movie that took so long to get made and that was hyped up to no end as the next great comedic masterpiece. Sure, it has its fair share of genuinely funny moments but that's not enough to overcome a mediocre story and a sleep inducing second act. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues won't go down in history as one of the great comedies but it doesn't do anything to hurt Will Ferrell in his standing as one of this generation's great comedic actors.
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