As I write this, the film hasn't yet been released, but by the time this goes to print I will have already seen "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues." Perhaps multiple times. I know I shouldn't set my expectations too high, but it's hard not to. The first "Anchorman" was the seminal funny movie of my teenage years. Its quips and one-liners formed a cultural lexicon of sorts, at least among my age group. I don't expect "The Legend Continues" to have the same impact, but if I laugh half as hard as I did during the film's trailers, I'll consider it a success. And you know what? I bet it's going to deliver. Here's why:
"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" came out nearly 10 years ago. I worried that the new film would try to pick up where the last one left off -- Ferrell looks older now, and to act like no time had passed would be unwise. Instead, the new film acknowledges it, being set in the 1980s after Ron has fallen (again) from atop San Diego's societal pyramid. I'm also confident because Ron Burgundy, as a character, has been crystallized over the past decade, and this is a good thing. Burgundy is great precisely because of his predictability. His clashes with a changing news media, and with a changing society as a whole, drag him grudgingly to a more enlightened state. This theme is timeless.
"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" is playing now in theaters everywhere.
-- Court Mann
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