Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elczv0ghqw0
Anchorman- what I would call one of the biggest comedy films of the noughties- if not the biggest. When you think about it not many comedies of recent times have been quoted quite as many times as the original film and that's quite an achievement. I'm surprised a sequel didn't get produced sooner. As with all sequels, Anchorman 2 has the potential to ruin the first films reputation entirely so I can understand the hesitation. The result? Gotta say, it's a mixed bag.
Anchorman 2 goes for the 'more of what you like' route from the very beginning and the laughs, initially anyway, come big and very frequent. There's repeatable quotes, hilarious little set-pieces and scenarios and dialogue that has me laughing just remembering it. I found most of the big laughs came from Steve Carrel's Brick but Will Ferrel and...the others get their moments too. There's a very wide range of humour here ranging from the most basic 'Brick is acting stupid, LOL' to some more subtle dialogue that takes a second to sink in. Even in a cinema of 30 people tops the auditorium was filled with laugher for the majority of the film and this is definitely Anchorman 2's strong point.
What does it do wrong then? I can pinpoint it exactly- the last third of the movie. It's as if everyone who wrote and created the first two thirds just passed everything to some new unfunny amateur guys and said 'just do what you want, that's at least an hour of good stuff'. When the film is about journalism and the story focuses on live news it's in an environment that allows for jokes to be in context and give the film an on-running theme. As much as there's a lot of basic humour there's a pretty good story about the news becoming more than a vessel of information and more about entertainment and power similar to the News Room or Citizen Kane. That stops at a precise point and what we get after that is random unfunny humour that leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth when you leave the cinema.
It's worth mentioning opinion is divided on this matter. I've talked to people that prefer the last third and thought is saved the film. For me however it just felt forced and laugh-free.
Back to the good though, Anchorman 2 starts great and maintains a rapid stream of laughs to warrant admission fee. For fans of the original there's a lot of throw-backs to the original film and if you were a fan of the characters initially you'll like them here as well.
My favourite bit of the whole film was the maybe 5 second clip that started 'here's my face when I see a snake made of candy'. It features Bricks new love interest in the film and had me in stitches for a reason I couldn't put my finger on.
It's a shame that Anchorman 2 ends the way it does but it's by no means a complete failure. When it's good it's definitely good. But when it's bad it's almost abysmal. It certainly doesn't stay classy. I'm sorry.
7/10
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