Anchorman 2 2013

When I saw this in theaters, I was maybe the only person laughing. While it does lose steam in the 2nd half, this satire of news media and specifically rightwing Fox News was a bold Hollywood "fuck you" to the masses that is even more appreciated now in a post-Trump world where media is regressing into conservativism, lowest common denominators and commerce over art.

The film underperformed and had cold reactions from fans of the original Anchorman and was ignored by the "serious film" snobs who failed to see the humor in it. While AM1 was an ironic W. Bush-era celebration of republican white male incompetency, younger audiences missed the joke and saw it a string of catchy one-liners that were paying liberal lip-service. AM2 rectifies this by being aggressively critical of "The Patriarchy". It doesn't play footsie with fratboys and is over giving homage to the lowbrow dad humor comedies of the 70s/80s. Where the first film held a loving mirror up to the dated liberalism of the Ford/Carter administrations, this sequel is a no-hold-barred reflection of Reagan Era racism, sexism, capitalism and cultural irresponsibility. Fans of Will Ferrell should be aware of this light/dark, safe/radical schism in his career sensibility. The 2 "Best of" SNL volumes for Farrell reflect this well.

I would love an Anchorman 3. It seems even more necessary than Part 2, which was a valiant defense of moderate liberalism and an overly gracious resistance to rightwing America's bigoted anti-Obama rhetoric. But we're dealing with a much worse threat now in Trump, who is the exact foot that this great comedy legacy was made to lampoon. An Anti-Trump Anchorman 3 would do be moral support for the entire country and depower the witless white nationalists trying to influence the mainstream. Oh, and it would probably make a fortune too.

But besides the brilliant political satire, the film is just a great exercise in film comedy. Director Adam McKay's formula of improv dialogue, campy acting and ensemble scenes wins... mostly. I think this film suffers from too many celebrity cameos, a terribly unfunny child actor and not relying enough on the cast chemistry of the original. The original 4 comedians are electric together but they don't have many moments to shine. Steve Carrel has a bigger part as he became a bigger star in 9 years, but half of his screentime is dedicated to the less funny Kristine Wiig, who has since fizzled as a comic. Christina Applegate is mostly replaced by Meagan Good and its actually delightful, but then she returns in the duller 2nd half. Hollywood's pro-Hillary agenda is way too distracting here and the politics of star egos is palpable. Thankfully we are past Hillary and Paul Rudd (who is fabulous here) has become a star with a No 1 film to his name.

The only issue with an Anchorman 3 is setting it in an appropriate time span. Would it be set during the first George Bush era? I think that would be an unpopular masterstroke. Sure, no one under 30 remembers that era. Who cares? There's a lot of late 80s/1990s nostalgia and that was such a hilariously lame transition in pop culture. And yet its a rich moment in comedy history to highlight, analyze and lampoon. Caddyshack 2, anyone? SNL Season 10, anyone? "Donnie Darko" nailed that obscure but important time period beautifully so McKay and Ferrell can do it justice.

I can hear the cheesy Whitesnake soundtrack already.