Movie Predictions Issue #2: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

 Movie Predictions Issue #2: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

I know I said not to expect too many of these movie prediction articles, and yet here's two of them back to back. Well, I stand by that. This is one exception because the movie I am discussing/predicting comes out in less than two weeks, so I had to get this out here sooner than later. Don't worry, more top tens will be coming at you in the next couple of weeks, as well as some Christmas themed articles. Enjoy!

Anchorman 2: Worth it, or not?

This Christmas, Will Ferrell and the rest of the gang return as San Diego’s funniest news team in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. It has been nine years since Ron Burgundy exploded onto the big screen and found his way into popular culture, from his memorable one-liners to his epic moustache. For many years it seemed unlikely that an Anchorman sequel would see the light of day, but now we are just days away from Will Ferrell’s return to his most famous film character. Will this continuation of the adventures of Channel 4’s news team be worth your time, or is it going to be added to the pile of unworthy comedy sequels?

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was a tongue in cheek look at 1970’s news casting, and focused in particular on the introduction of women reading the news. The film follows Ron Burgundy, San Diego’s favourite news anchor, and his fellow news team, including sex stud reporter Brian Fantana, played by Paul Rudd, liquor breath sportscaster Champ Kind, played by David Koechner, and mentally inept meteorologist Brick Tambland, played by Steve Carell. Trouble brews among the men when the cunning Veronica Corningstone(Christina Applegate), joins the news team, and proves to be a formidable rival for Ron. Hilarity ensues, as Ron and his friends tangle with her, as well as the rival news stations. The funniest scene is when all the feuding news teams show up in a shady part of town, which turns into an epic battle featuring a plethora of comedic cameos (I won’t spoil them if you haven’t seen it).

Anchorman took in over 90 million dollars at the box office, garnered positive reviews, and is frequently cited as one of the funniest comedies ever. This was the film that officially inducted Will Ferrell into what is dubbed “The Frat Pack”, a group of comedic actors which emerged in the late 1990’s to early 2000’s, including Vince Vaughn, Jack Black, and Steve Carell, among others. Many of these actors have collaborated on multiple projects.

In March 2012, Will Ferrell announced that Anchorman 2 was in the works on the late-night talk show Conan, and did so as Ron Burgundy. All of the principle cast returns for the sequel, as well as introduces newcomers Kristin Wiig as Brick’s love interest, and Harrison Ford as a veteran news anchor. I couldn’t help myself and ended up reading the list of cameo’s, expecting it to be quite impressive since the first Anchorman excelled in that department. I won’t spoil any, but will say the cameos should be hilarious.

Anchorman 2 has a lot going for it. Had it been made hot off the heels of Anchorman’s success, the plot would likely have been more of the same. Instead, the sequel is being set in the 1980’s, and the news team joins a 24 hour news channel. This plot sounds similar enough to the original film that it will work, but not so similar that it will feel like a rehash of the first movie. It was recently announced that there was so much improv during the filming of Anchorman 2, that it was possible for director Adam Mckay to put together two different versions of the film. Both versions would follow the same storyline, but all the jokes would be completely different.

This huge amount of improv is not surprising. The first Anchorman had a straight to DVD companion film released titled Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie. The film was compiled outtakes and followed a plot originally intended for the theatrical version, but when test screenings were not positive, scenes were re-written and a new concept introduced. The original plot had the reporters following a group of hippy bank robbers called “The Alarm Clock”. It sounds like we could expect something similar to this with the future DVD release of Anchorman 2.

As a fan of the original film, I am skeptical about, but still anticipating, this sequel. There really aren’t any great comedy sequels that come to my mind. This year already saw the release of The Hangover Part III, which underperformed at the box office and received many poor reviews from critics. Hopefully the spell is broken with Anchorman 2. I think because Will Ferrell and company allowed the first film to stand on its own and garner a huge number of fans, the sequel doesn’t feel like a cash grab. However, it adds pressure on them to really deliver. Anchorman has become a comedy classic for some, and fans might be hesitant to see the sequel try and duplicate what made the first so hilarious. On the other hand, because the sequel wasn’t rushed into production and Ferrell went on to star as other quirky characters in a number of other films, this might be a welcome return to what many consider his greatest film character of all. True fans will likely find themselves at the theater during opening week, regardless of what critics think.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues opens in theaters December 18th. That’s all for us here today. I’m Clayton, you stay classy, readers!