Los amos de la noticia

This will be hard to admit, but from time to time, a film occasionally surprises me- and I'm proved wrong. My first experience with the original "Anchorman" ended up being one of those times. I didn't see it theatrically, and waited until a friend forced it upon me. What a revelation it was- a straight-up comedy, incredibly well-made and structured, with nearly every joke hitting the mark. Sure, it's a complete farce, but one that worked extremely well. Audiences didn't initially warm up to the theatrical release, but like a cult film, it found an immense audience on DVD- including myself.

It comes as no surprise that there has been clamor for a sequel- the only issue is that Paramount had strong misgivings about making one. The box office wasn't strong for the first film, and farce comedies don't generally perform well. It's wonderful that this did get made, however. Not only does it satisfy fans of the first film, but it contains enough fresh material and biting sarcasm to go around. It may not be as crisp as the first, and it contains a few awkward moments, but overall, it deserves kudos for continuing to take risks, and I laughed out loud multiple times.

Summarizing the plot should be rather straightforward. The blustering Ron Burgundy (Farrell) has now married the daring anchorwoman from the first film, Veronica Corningstone (Applegate), with whom he has fathered young Walter. Life is beautiful for them until Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford) decides to retire at the network and makes Veronica, not Ron, the lead nightly anchor. Ron can't handle it, leaves the network, leaves Veronica & Walter, and ends up back in San Diego, drunk in front of Sea World crowds. Luckily for him, he meets a recruiter looking to start a 24 hour news network in New York City. The idea sounds ludicrous to Ron, but perfectly normal and sane to us.

Aside from the jokes and scenarios you can imagine after seeing the first film, the sequel offers a biting satire of today's version of the "news". With news networks on all the time, it's necessary to fill that space with CONTENT. How do these networks acquire this content? Is it possible that the content isn't always 'newsworthy'? Is it possible the boundaries of acceptable news stories have stretched a tad over the years? Answers to all questions are a resounding yes. The fact that news and news anchors are now trusted less by the public are part of the reason that these two films exist, and that the farce is so resonant. It's an unfortunate but true part of our society.

Thankfully, "Anchorman 2″ understands the folly that is a good portion of news today. By showcasing Ron Burgundy on a screen surrounded by multiple talking heads, with headlines running across the top and bottom of the screen, we can clearly see how crowded news delivery is today. Creating a scene with Brick Tamland (Carell) going postal in front of a green screen points out the hilarity that is broadcast meteorology. After all, do we need high- tech graphics to tell us what weather is coming our way? The whole thing is silly, really, which is most likely the reason why these films work so well.

If there are downsides to having this much fun at the theater, it's the occasional overkill. Farce is susceptible to such things, and at nearly two hours, the film occasionally runs into that. The subplot involving Ron going blind and living in exile could have been skipped. Also unnecessary are the oddly repetitive and off- putting actions of Champ Kind (Koechner), illustrating the need for a more well-rounded character (or perhaps actor? This film illustrates why Koechner hasn't been nearly as successful as his comrades). Poor Christina Applegate doesn't have much to do this time around except react to what Will Ferrell's character does to her, and the attempt to give Meagan Good's producer a meaty role falls a bit short.

For its' minor drawbacks, "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" is still the year's funniest film. It's also an obvious achievement, not only to get these actors together again, but to give us a film that is worthy of our attention, all while inventing a few new laughs and trying its' hand at social commentary. If there is another sequel, I'm not sure there is anything left to comment on. We know the 'news' is no longer news, and so we, the audience, have to choose what we consume. It's a laborious task- perhaps one of the reasons why so many flock to The Onion, 'The Daily Show', and for all intents and purposes, 'Anchorman' films.

The first "Anchorman" movie is one of the most quotable comedy movies of all-time. When I sat down in the theater for the long-awaited sequel, I expected more humor along the same lines (if not quite as fresh). That is exactly what I received...and in the case of comedy films that is a win for all parties involved.

For a basic plot summary, "Anchorman 2" tells the story once again of Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), a man born to look good and read the news. When wife Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) essentially takes his job, however, Ron must decide what the next direction is that his life should take. With input from the old news team of Brick Tamland (Steve Carrell), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), and Champ Kind (David Koechner), Ron decides to pursue an opportunity to land on a 24-hour news station.

This sequel primarily works because of Ferrell's impeccably honed Burgundy character. When some of the jokes inevitably fall flat, sometimes just Ferrell's reactions alone can carry a scene. Without his strong presence, this franchise (and especially this installment) would be utterly lost. Does the movie contain an ensemble cast? To be sure. All the auxiliary parts work well together...but they also have some jokes that fall completely flat or are just plain stupid. Only the "Burgundy scenes" are the ones that are consistently hilarious.

Basically, "Anchorman 2" is a four-star movie (though not five) because it continues the solid humor of the original. It contains more than its share of fresh jokes, but others are just a bit stale because they have essentially been done before. That's not fault of its own, of course, but the characters were just so fresh in the original that now they don't "pop" quite as much here. Essentially, this is probably about the best sequel that could have been expected for this franchise.

The further adventures of Ron Burgundy and his fellow news teammates yields quite a few laugh-out-laud gags and more than a few head scratches. I guess this is one of those films that depends heavily on knowing what you're in for. The first one was a big indicator and I had a hell of a good time with this.

I liked many of the jabs at modern news reporting and ratings and others that range from synergies to the chicken industry. Many quite good and to the point. Then there are those moments you're embarrassed to laugh at (the one with Paul Rudd's "Ladykiller" friends, for example) and will definitely offend more than a few. And this is, naturally, all done in the most over the top manner possible.

For some reason the bits with Steve Carell and Kirsten Wiig fell a bit flat for me but overall I completely enjoyed the film's excessiveness. Will Ferrell owns this role and everyone else gives it a fun go.

Get yourself in the right frame of mind and most likely you'll enjoy it.

That was the first thing I said as I left the cinema. Was that the best they could come up with after all these years? I'm a huge Anchorman fan, but whereas the first one felt fresh and to the point, this one is flabby and overlong. It's not terrible and it did make me laugh a few times, but I expected so much more. The 24 hour news channel is a good hook on which to hang the gags and setpieces but unfortunately Ferrell and McKay don't seem to know what to do with it, so they settle for recycling material from the original. By way of example, the mahoosive news reader fight scene from Anchorman is repeated here; the first time around it was funny and surprising, this time it's lazy and stuffed full of tedious cameos by Will Ferrell's showbiz mates. So much wrong with this film: sidelining Veronica Corningstone; not enough Baxter; a subplot in which Brick gets a girlfriend, no laughs there, it's just odd and creepy; pointless roles for Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear; a recurring thread of racial humour that is cringeworthy at best and at worst offensive. All of which leaves you asking: why, Ron Burgundy, why?!?

First thing's first - no, this is not as good as the original. But what sequel is? There was certainly plenty of laughs throughout the film, from the whole cinema. Sure, not all the jokes were amazing, but there was plenty of good slapstick and lots of great little quips.

The premise is simple - it's now the 80s and Ron and the gang are in New York to start the first 24-hour-news network (CNN, or 'GNN' in the film - this provides some decent satire), and since it's the 80s, they have to progress with the times, including having a female boss (who's also black). The eight guest-star cameo's - don't worry, I won't ruin the surprise - for the news team battle are pretty funny and will have you going "is that really ___?!"

That's my one issue with the film - it's a little long. Some scenes - such as the shark and the above-mentioned "battle" - go for longer than necessary and probably make it about 15min too long, clocking in at almost two hours. Also, was Josh Lawson the best choice as an Aussie to play a Rupert Murdoch-like character? But it's made up for by some truly laugh-out-loud moments, from finding out what they've all been up to since the first film and then some great sight gags and truly absurd moments.