It’s been nine years since Anchorman arrived to mock the television industry. The sequel, Anchorman 2, is in theaters now, but I suspect it won’t be as funny as the original. Will Ferrell created “The Legend of Ron Burgandy” with this comic movie. This Blu-ray version of Anchorman includes commentary by Will Ferrell and the other major actors, bloopers, 36 deleted & extended scenes, the “Afternoon Delight” video, and an ESPN SportsCenter audition by Ron Burgundy. If you want to laugh watch Anchorman. It’s still funny after all these years.
Only nine years, George – it came out in 2004. I know they think the constant showings on DVD and cable give the sequel a built-in audience but judging by critics’ reaction, you’re right about it not being as funny as the first. In fact, it seems like basically a rehash. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of Will Ferrell’s “humor” – I like certain things he’s done a lot, like his George W. Bush and STRANGER THAN FICTION – but things like ELF and STEP BROTHERS are not for me.
Jeff, I’m with you on Will Ferrell. We’ll probably see ANCHORMAN 2, but it’s far from the top of our movie list.
Yeah, Will Farrell is an acquired taste that I never quite acquired (I group him with Paul Rudd and Jim Belushi in the “inexplicable mega-success” category) and I just can’t believe how much promotion Farrell’s been doing for a movie that should, as you say, have a built-in audience. Perhaps the producers realized that a decade was too long to wait for a sequel.
Deb, comedy sequels have a very poor track record. Just look at THE HANGOVER trilogy: each successive movie worse than the one before it. I’m with you on Ferrell, Rudd, and Jim Belushi. All the marketing in the world can’t make ANCHORMAN 2 as successful as the original.
This is a film I wouldn’t see even if they gave away a free turkey with the ticket. In fact the film IS the turkey, based on the mini-trailers that litter television. I really dislike Farrell, his “humor” is on a level I passed by the time I was three or four years old. It’s all slapstick gone into the weeds, and the weeds suffer for it. Uck. No thanks, I’d rather watch a re-broadcast of Hee Haw, which I hated.
Aside from that… Merry Christmas to you George and to all your regulars here; Deb, Jeff, Patti and the whole gang.
Rick said it all.
Rick, thanks for the Merry Christmas wishes,. The same to you and your family. I think Cap’n Bob captured the essence of the prevailing opinion of ANCHORMAN 2 with his pithy words: “Rick said it all.”
Well put, Rick. And Deb, I’d put Adam Sandler at the top of that list.
Jeff, how could I have forgotten Adam Sandler? He fits the profile of the others!