I remember the first time I caught the teaser for this, and I was pumped. Was this a movie we needed? No. Was I ready for the forced crap that I was expecting that at least included a bit more of the greatest news team ever? Hell yeah. It doesn't matter if we were just getting the same crap again. I just wanted to hear some more loud noises.
But this wasn't the same. No, it was a pleasant update to the first film, with the same sense of humor in new characters. Sure, the characters are the same for the most part. But they've also grown, noticably changed, while maintaining their charm and hilarity from the first. It was really strongly written, especially with Paul Rudd's character. It kept me laughing, it kept the audience around me engaged, and it managed to keep me just as satisfied as I was with the first.
The first film of course focused on a woman entering a male dominated work place. In this sequel, Veronica has actually taken the higher job, leaving Burgundy to struggle for a career at all. Eventually he's offered the night shift on the first ever 24 hour news cycle. From here, he hilariously shapes the news programming to be what we know today - far less about necessary news, and more about car chases and patriotism. It's a great parody/exploration of our interpretation of what news is. We also see equally hilarious and awkward work from Steve Carrell, playing my personal favorite character, Brick Tamland, as he finds love for the first time in the beautifully awkward Kristin Wiig. It might be one of my new favorite roles I've seen her in.
It must be said, though, that I had one major problem with Anchorman 2. I found myself laughing at every joke, rolling my eyes at the dumb moments only to chuckle to myself about them later. It was an absolute success as a comedy. But then, walking out with my friends, I wanted to quote one particularly funny line...and I couldn't remember it. I tried to think of another one. But none of us could. While all of us could say we enjoyed and laughed at the film, there wasn't a single quotable line. This is incredibly unfortunate, with the first Anchorman being one of the most quotable films I can think of. Why is this notable? Because apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so. Tons of critics, friends, and family have told me that they can't remember a good line from the film despite enjoying it.
But this isn't a deterrent. This is a great comedy. It had ridiculous, hilarious moments, and great stupid jokes mixed with the equally smart ones. This is a great film to check out with your friends, and even though it lost the quotability of the first, I'd lie if I didn't rank this film very highly.
Rank - 4/5
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