I find the abundance of negative reviews interesting because despite my rather messy memory, I remember when the first Anchorman film came out. And I can promise you, that film had a similar amount of negative press from users. Yet over the years, with the emergence of social networks and in the school hallways, I'd find words like "Great Odin's raven!" Or "Invitation to the pants party" thrown around like de-icing salt. And I'm pretty sure that this film will have a similar thing going for it. Mind you, I loved the first movie upon first viewing. It had juvenile humour, star power, and easily the best thing about it was that in every scene, the actors were clearly trying not to laugh (pay special attention to Christina Applegate- she's the worst for this in both movies. You can tell when it's getting too much for her because it cuts immediately so she can dissolve into uncontrollable laughter). It was great back then, and it was still great on my most recent viewing.
Of course, I'm not in any way trying to imply that this film is as good as first. For one, it does have a ton of pacing issues- two hours is too long for a comedy like this. The film does tend to get repetitive in places (though not like the first didn't). Yet, much like the earlier released "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug", low expectations was what lessened the blow of that. And of course, the jokes are a bit too out there at times, but really, this is an absurdist comedy. And what it does good, it does very good. There's still tons of really vulgar and puerile jokes, but come on, just remember what kind of film you're watching. That said, what this film really did best was its much deserving dig at those 24 hours "news" networks. I swear, I expect that happened in this movie to happen on those kinds of shitty networks. And of course, like I mentioned above- the star power. It's so great to see the guys having fun again, and struggling once more to keep it in the face. Every single actor has a hard time keeping a straight face in every scene, which is just what makes it funnier. And of course, the completely vulgar jokes work too. Like the scene where they smoke crack on air. Brilliant! The abundance of celebrity cameos adds to the film's absurd and surreal feel, and all are very satisfying and fun to watch.
Point is, as flawed and overlong as the movie is, it's still fun to watch. It is by no means perfect, and the film itself even is aware of it at times. But lower your expectations and you'll have a last. A common complaint I've seen in much of these reviews is that they were "huge fans if the first film" and they're digging their own graves by having such high expectations. For me, the magic was still there, and it still is. And while I'm not sure I'd want an Anchorman 3, this film still entertains greatly. It's been too long since we've seen Ron and his pals behind the news desk, and to see them back together again in itself is a purely satisfying sight
Of course, I'm not in any way trying to imply that this film is as good as first. For one, it does have a ton of pacing issues- two hours is too long for a comedy like this. The film does tend to get repetitive in places (though not like the first didn't). Yet, much like the earlier released "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug", low expectations was what lessened the blow of that. And of course, the jokes are a bit too out there at times, but really, this is an absurdist comedy. And what it does good, it does very good. There's still tons of really vulgar and puerile jokes, but come on, just remember what kind of film you're watching. That said, what this film really did best was its much deserving dig at those 24 hours "news" networks. I swear, I expect that happened in this movie to happen on those kinds of shitty networks. And of course, like I mentioned above- the star power. It's so great to see the guys having fun again, and struggling once more to keep it in the face. Every single actor has a hard time keeping a straight face in every scene, which is just what makes it funnier. And of course, the completely vulgar jokes work too. Like the scene where they smoke crack on air. Brilliant! The abundance of celebrity cameos adds to the film's absurd and surreal feel, and all are very satisfying and fun to watch.
Point is, as flawed and overlong as the movie is, it's still fun to watch. It is by no means perfect, and the film itself even is aware of it at times. But lower your expectations and you'll have a last. A common complaint I've seen in much of these reviews is that they were "huge fans if the first film" and they're digging their own graves by having such high expectations. For me, the magic was still there, and it still is. And while I'm not sure I'd want an Anchorman 3, this film still entertains greatly. It's been too long since we've seen Ron and his pals behind the news desk, and to see them back together again in itself is a purely satisfying sight