I can vividly remember watching Anchorman in the cinema. Going in with no expectations, I found myself in the throes of infectious, intense laughter throughout. That unexpected experience ranks among my favourite cinema memories. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues didn’t replicate that experience. It has its fair share of belly laughs – generally found in its most absurd moments – but it lacks the freight train comedic momentum that made its predecessor such an enjoyable experience.
The two films have much in common, beyond the obvious, each using a semi-historical journalism narrative as a launching pad for improvisational comedy. Half of the sequel’s foundational story is well-executed – a straightforward satire of modern, ratings-focused news, like a dumbed-down Network – while the rest, embedded in Ron’s racism, is less successful. The jokes are best at their most absurd, but the connective tissue between those jokes and the core storyline is practically non-existent. There are other problems. Brick’s intermittently funny, but his obliviousness tends towards randomness, losing the polite desire to fit in that anchored his character in Anchorman. And the first half hour is a drag, almost totally bereft of laughs.
Anchorman 2 isn’t terrible, but it is a clear example of diminishing returns.
ccpopculture 
Seeing as I thought it was going to be terrible, I’ll take it being not quite as good as the first.
What did you think of the first film?
I really like the first one, I’m in the camp who thinks it’s very funny although I know there are plenty who don’t like it.
Haven’t seen this one, but I did finally watch the first yesterday (it is quite good). I’m very interested to see how the sequel compares – it just doesn’t feel as though the story lent itself to sequelization.
Hopefully, I wind up liking it more than you do. Even though you don’t hate it, per se.
I think my review reads more negative than I feel about it (though I wouldn’t say that I recommend it or anything); it’s hard to write a review it’s easy to pick out flaws and most of the good bits are just the laughs – especially in 200 words!
Nice review Dave. I laughed during this a lot, but not quite as much or as hard as I did with the first. That’s for sure.
I laughed quite a bit, but less than I would’ve liked! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Pingback: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) | ccpopculture
Pingback: Sydney Film Festival: Happy Christmas (2014) | ccpopculture
Pingback: Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) | ccpopculture