Skip to main content

Matt Vs. Anchorman

The year was 2004 and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was released in theaters. Starring Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steven Carrell, and others it became a hit  that launched a thousand memes, jokes, and T-shirts.  It seems likes it was just yesterday when the original comedy shows local Anchor and lovable jerk Ron Burgundy broadcasting the news at sunny shores of 1970s San Diego rising, falling, finding love, and eventually becoming  slightly less of a lovable jerk. Now nine years later, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues hit theaters among lots of hype, excitement, and car commercials. Was it as hilarious as the original or did it collapse amongst years of hype and unrealistic expectations?

The story starts out with lovable idiot Ron being fired from his job due his on-air antics and his wife Veronica Corningstone being promoted to lead anchor. He then leaves his wife and son to become an alcoholic announcer at SeaWorld.  Following a suicide attempt, Ron gets a chance to redeem himself  with a news slot at an revolutionary 24 hour news network. Ron the reunites his news team of Brian Fantana, Champ, Brick, and his trusty dog Baxter and drives across the country to New York where the 24 hour news channel is located. The rest of the movie shows Ron trying to balance his new job, his attractive female black boss, and his estranged wife and son while keeping his hair sharp and news team together.

Overall I thought that the movie was pretty good and for being a big dumb comedy with plenty of celebrity cameos was surprisingly smart. Ron becomes a rating smash when he starts to sensationalize car chases, harp on patriotism, and pander to the lowest common denominator of entertainment.  He eventually becomes lead anchor of the network and even upstages his wife who was covering much heavier news fare. There were several fun pokes at CNN,  Fox News, and the Weather Channel as well as the current state of news media. The rest of the new team especially Carrell's Brick provided more than a few laughs. Fans would recognize several callbacks to jokes in the original film such as the jazz flute, playing off Ron's blustery personality, and a nonsensical fight scene but I was disappointed that Ron didn't remind us to stay classy. (The one joke that I was waiting for). As far as comedy sequels go, The Legend Continues is clearly one of the better ones of recent years. It wasn't a pure rehash of the original  like The Hangover 2 and gave a fun romp through Ron's late 70s early 80s world. Anchorman 2 will please fans of the original and provides quality laughs during this hectic Christmas season.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Matt and the Joker's Five Way Revenge

    Last year saw the passing of acclaimed comic book writer Denny O'Neill. O'Neill had a long history with many DC Comics superheroes as a writer and editor and is best known for revitalizing the character of Batman among others starting in the 1970s. I decided to pick up a copy of one of the more famous Batman issues of this era, Joker's Five Way Revenge which was written by O'Neill and drawn by Neal Adams. The story featured in Batman # 251, was released in November, 1973. While I am gaining a better appreciation for 1990s comics, I largely avoided avidly reading 1970s issues due to their seemingly dated nature and tropes. After reading this issue, I had some thoughts on both how the character and mythos of Batman has evolved over time and a greater appreciation for a more grounded Dark Knight. In Joker's Five Way Revenge, the Joker is seeking revenge for a presumed betrayal by killing members of his former gang and Batman is striving to stop him. By the time t...

Matt vs Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F

For millennials of a certain age Dragon Ball Z was a significant part of our lates 90s and early 2000s experience.The franchise was everywhere from the anime show to video games to the monsoon of related merchandise. Goku and friends return in the sequel to 2013's Battle of Gods film. The Z warriors must contend with the return of Frieza, one of their deadliest ones in  Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F. The anime film had a limited edition run in select theaters in North America and I knew I had to go out of my way to give it a look. Let me start by saying I have loved Dragon Ball Z for years have several volumes of its manga, making a critical review quite difficult. I watched the film in a packed theater on the last night of its limited run with with a big smile on my face. The environment could not be beat with ages ranging from kids to 20-somethings like myself. The movie starts with Frieza's former minions using the wish-granting DragonBalls to bring their master back ...

Matt Vs. Sonic Colors

The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has gone through many changes over its two decade existence. From its birth on the SEGA Genesis and transition to 3-D on the SEGA  Dreamcast to its struggles throughout the last decades, many wondered if Sonic would ever be good again. Since Sonic Adventure  2, I have played several newer Sonic games including Sonic Heroes and Sonic and the Secret Rings however theses titles were mediocre at best. A new game would be announced raising fan expectations and the final product would be a disappointing mess and this same cycle continued for years. Sonic Colors for the Wii and along with Sonic Generations for the Xbox 360 and PS3 helped change this perception. Sonic Colors' plot is fairly basic, Sonic and Tails visit Dr. Robotnik's interstellar amusement part and have to rescue the aliens that the doctor has captured there. The overall tone of the game is similar to those of Saturday morning cartoon shows with voice acting that fits. Unli...