Jack Goes Confidential: ‘ANCHORMAN 2’—Keep Your Expectations in Check

At what point during the promotional cycle of a new film does hype become overkill and detrimental to the movie itself?

We may find out with ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES which took the fine art of super hype into the stratosphere.

Now the questions are:

1–Has Will Ferrell and company’s promotional overkill for the film peaked too early?

2–Can and does the movie live up to the media tsunami?

The answer to the first question should better be addressed in a few weeks. After all ANCHORMAN 2 is bound to open big. But will it have “legs?”

We’ll see…….

As for question 2, the script is decent enough. Down and out Ron Burgundy getting the old gang back together to try his schtick at the new round-the-clock GNN news network.

That after losing a shot at becoming San Diego’s prime anchor to now wife Veronica (Christina Applegate) Corningstone.

Let’s just say that things get pretty wacky on their cross country mobile home journey to the big apple. And even more so when Burgundy’s new boss turns out to be a woman—a BLACK woman no less.

Worse yet he and his pals have been relegated to the news network’s graveyard shift. And so it goes as the film turns ever more into goofy slapstick territory.

Is Burgundy staying classy?

Up to a point, until the script seems to lose focus and spews all over the place.

I hate to say it but this sequel won’t be producing many quotable lines for the faithful.

Burgundy’s sign off line, “Don’t just have a great night, have an American night”— makes sense when you see the movie.

Without digging deeper into this eagerly anticipated comedy let me instead offer some observations:

*For one, 2004’s ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY really wasn’t a huge theatrical hit. It only gained cult status during its later DVD years.

* Wisely, the original had a tight running time of just 95 minutes. By comparison this sequel runs almost two hours and longer doesn’t necessarily mean better.

Tightening ANCHORMAN 2 could’ve helped it immensely.

* The sequel DOES take some right-on stabs at today’s soft TV news journalism.

The most poignant being Burgundy and GNN’s discovery that helicopter coverage of car chases work great for news ratings—no matter where they take place.

* Otherwise though ANCHORMAN 2 seems to have lost a good part of its edge as displayed so well in the original. And as with most sequels it lacks freshness.

* Will you laugh? Of course you will. But laughter will soon turn to chuckles—and then maybe just to smiles.

* The solid cameo cast adds to the proceedings in mostly positive ways. They include Greg Kinnear, Jim Carrey, Amy Poehler, Tina Faye and Harrison Ford as San Diego’s retiring Walter Cronkite-like senior anchor.

All in all good enough fun with Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Meagan Good, Kristen Wiig and James Marsden.

Just keep your expectations in check!

Bawdy ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES scoring a C+ grade.

(Reviewed at Cinemark, Merriam)

JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES Friday mornings at 6:40 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. on NewsRadio KMBZ 98.1 FM.