The gang is back together! And they’re staying classy. 

The Anchorman movies are not everyone’s cup o’ tea. I get that. You tend to either love this brand of absurd-laden, insane comedy, or hate it.

Anchorman 2 is sheer insanity. Even more so than the original Anchorman (which we’ve waited nearly a decade to see sequel-ed), The Legend Continues brings laughs a mile a minute, and packs in so many celebrity cameos, it must be seen to be believed.

Ron Burgundy and his infamous News Team reassemble a decade after we left them in the 70’s, to head up a timeslot for the world’s first-ever 24-Hour News Channel in New York. Ron, Champ, Brian, and Brick are all back, and the shenanigans they find themselves in are just as hysterical as ever. To describe any of them any further would be to ruin the shocks and surprises this film is chock full of.

Much of the plot of Anchorman 2 seems to be based on- “hey, what if we did this, that’d be funny, right?” Plots are woven in loosely, some with no apparent purpose. But my goodness, it works. Anchorman 2 obviously has no other agenda than to make its audience laugh. And laugh often. Oftentimes the jokes come off as more weird than outright funny, but that’s what makes this absurdly hilarious movie work. It’s extremely strange. The characters are beyond bizarre. Reality has been thrown out the window, but Anchorman never did set out to be an accurate depiction of the journalism world.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is not a perfect film, and it surely won’t be on the top of many high-brow critic’s lists. But it’s a ridiculously entertaining opportunity to see a bunch of incredibly funny and talented comedians getting together to do what they do best: make people laugh. When you look back on it, will it all make sense? Not at all. But that’s sort of the point.

+ Just as funny as the original
+ Equal mix of broad, lowbrow humor with clever and witty satire
+ It’s such a delight to see all these comedians riffing off of each other
+ The sheer absurdity of many gags is insanely funny
+ Nonstop jokes will have you struggling to breathe between them

– A little long
– Some of the humor is straight up stupid

A triumphant return for the Anchorman gang, this sequel is insanely funny- and outright insane. It may not make much sense sometimes, but the hysterical performances and absurd gags will leave you laughing out loud numerous times. Make sure to see it with a crowd and laugh yourself silly.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is rated PG-13 for “language, crude humor, drug use, and comic violence.” I would not suggest this film for kids or even younger teenagers, due to some suggestive jokes and references. However, for older audiences who are able to tolerate some crude humor and language, Anchorman 2 offers a number of solid laughs. 

© Matt Tory, 2013.