Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Review
 
December 21, 2013
 
If you really loved the first one, you will really love the second one. If you just thought the first one was funny, but OK, you will feel the same about the second (or rather third – as the second went straight to DVD). But if you work in news – you will appreciate it and laugh more than the average movie-goer. My one complaint is that it dragged slightly, as 20 minutes could have probably been left on the cutting room floor.
 
The plot is pretty straight forward actually. It’s a few later, and Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) are married with a kid and hosting a top newscast in New York. Life is pretty good for them, until Mark Tannen (Harrison Ford), the most famous nightly news anchor, announces he’s retiring and only one of the two will take over the show for him. When he offers the job to Veronica, Ron gives her an ultimatum: either him or the job. He goes into a deep depression when she chooses the job. But one day, agent  Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker), who works for a new 24-hour news network, GNN (Global News Network), tracks Ron down and offers him, and his team, a slot on the new network.
 
The gang, Ron, Champ Kind (David Koechner), Brian Fontana (Paul Rudd) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carrell), heads to New York, only to learn they are basically little fish swimming in a big pond. They are offered the graveyard shift. Fearing no one will watch and getting low ratings, they brainstorm of how to make their newscast interesting. Before they head on air, Ron makes a bet with Jack Lime (James Marsden) that his ratings will be higher. After deciding to give the people what they want to hear, instead of news they need to hear, Ron’s ratings are higher than any other hour on the first day. The station’s manager Linda Jackson (Meagan Good), who has fired the group after they didn’t stick to the format, re-hires them.
 
Everyone loves the news team, except Jack, who was forced to change his name, legally, to Jack Lame after losing the bet to Ron. Ron’s ego, of course, gets too big and he pisses off his friends. So when, Jack gets revenge on Ron during a celebration of the news anchor, his friends aren’t around to help him. As a result of the accident, Ron goes blind, rendering himself useless in the television news business. He goes into a life of solitude in some lighthouse. However, Veronica and his son Walter ‘rescue’ him and basically bring their family back together. And after getting a message from his doctor, he gets his sight back. But when he is welcomed back into the business, he has some doubts now that he is a family man. He must figure out which is more important, or just find that work/life balance.
 
The plot was simple, though they tried to tie in a little conflict with Linda and the station’s owner. They also threw in a not-necessary scene where Ron meets Linda’s family. While funny, it wasn’t really important to the storyline. The side-plot between Brick and office worker Chani (Kristen Wiig) was semi-entertaining, but mostly annoying and slightly drawn out.
 
The last scene, with many guess appearances, didn’t really fit well with the storyline, but made for a funny five-minute attention-grabber.
 
All in all, I’d recommend it for those Ron Burgundy lovers, but anyone else can probably wait until it’s On Demand or cable.