Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Has it really been nine years since Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy?  I have to give them credit for not rushing a cash-grab sequel out immediately after.  Believe it not, I actually didn't like Anchorman all that much the first time I saw it.  I can only remember laughing once or twice in the theater, but a lot of that was due to my mood (and being on a bad date).  It wasn't until I watched it a second time that I really started to love it.  I think that's the case with a lot of comedies though.

With so much time passing between films, can Anchorman 2 live up to the expectations?  Let's see...

Since Anchorman, Ron (Will Ferrell) and Veronica (Christina Applegate) have moved to New York and are anchoring a weekend news show.  Their boss and legendary reporter, Mack Harken (Harrison Ford), offers Veronica a promotion while firing Ron.  As you'd expect, this doesn't have a good outcome for their relationship and Ron dives into another tailspin.  Eventually he's offered a job by Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker), who offers him a job at the Global News Network, which is trying to become the first 24-hour news network.  Ron assembles his old news team, and they head back to New York.  There's not much more to the plot than that, and it can be kind of a mess at times.  In fact, much of the story feels like a remix of the first, hitting many of the same beats.  Let's be honest though, is anyone watching Anchorman 2 for the plot?  We all just want to laugh, right?

Anchorman 2 is a little rough in the opening minutes.  Many of the jokes were landing with a thud, and I was concerned they were trying too hard.  I've said this before, but it's really hard to recapture that same lightning in the bottle, especially where comedy is concerned.  Fortunately after it settles in, there are plenty of good laughs to be had.  Having said that, there are a few gags that go nowhere or outright don't work, and more than a few times, they are basically recycling a joke from the first.  They can't be all gems though, and I was pleased that some of the better laughs weren't spoiled by the trailer, so if you're concerned about that you should rest a little easier going in.  Another thing that you'll notice is that this installment isn't quite as quotable as the first, although subsequent views once this hits blu-ray may prove otherwise.  I still think Anchorman will be the winner in that category though.

It's all the same silly stuff you've come to expect from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.  So, if you're not a fan of the overgrown, man-child act, then this is likely not going to be for you.  Will Ferrell portrays Ron again with the same over-the-top buffoonery, but he might have dialed it up to 11 this time.  If you're a Champ (David Koechner) fan, he seemed to take a back seat, as well as Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), who played more of a voice of reason this time around.  As much as this is Will Ferrell's show though, you'll likely notice there's a lot more of Brick (Steve Carell).  He has an oddly sweet, but funny, courtship with Chani (Kristen Wiig).  I can only describe it as watching monkeys learn how to use tools.

There are lot of new members to the cast, such as Dylan Baker, who's primarily a straight man to all of the antics.  Meagan Good joins the cast as Ron's fiery and sexy boss.  Films need more Meagan Good.  Greg Kinnear also has a few funny moments.  I was very happy to see James Marsden finally getting a chance to show mainstream audiences that he can be a funny guy.  I've long felt he was an underappreciated actor who usually ends up playing the other guy in romantic comedies or even in action films (like his role in Superman Returns or Cyclops in the X-Men series).  Here he has a central role that I hope gets him the recognition he deserves.  Another interesting performance was the kid (Judah Nelson) they had playing Ron and Veronica's son.  At times, he's delivering lines like an inexperienced. overly enthusiastic child actor, but then there's a scene towards the end that made me think this was an intentional direction and make it that much funnier.

I was surprised to see this was two hours, as I often complain that comedies have no business being that long, but I didn't notice the length at all.  Time flies when you're having fun, eh?  I also applaud the movie for getting away with just a PG-13 rating.  Anchorman 2 doesn't get its laughs from being vulgar or gross.  I don't have an issue with that normally, but it's nice to see a comedy not going for shock value.

While not as funny as the first film, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues has enough of the same absurd and silly humor that made the first so enjoyable and fans will have a good time watching.  I can't say it was worth waiting nine years for, but in a weak year for comedy it'll do.

3.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

Think Like a Man (2012) - Movie Review

See ladies, if you want to get a man, you have to start thinking more like one.  I've been saying this...like...forever!  Duh!  Think Like a Man is a romantic comedy inspired by the book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy and Commitment" by Steve Harvey.  Hey Steve, you think you could have maybe shortened that title just a bit?  That's a mouthful!

The movie begins by introducing us to a group of six friends and their 'roles'.  You have Zeke, 'The Player' (Romany Malco); Dominic, 'The Dreamer' (Michael Ealy); Cedric, 'Soon to be Divorced Guy' (Kevin Hart); 'Happily Married Guy' (Gary Owen); 'The Mama's Boy' (Terrence J); and finally Turtle from Entourage as 'The Unable to Commit Guy' (Jerry Ferrara).

You're also introduced to a few women that are likewise broken down to their 'roles', like Mya, 'The 90-Day Rule Girl' (Meagan Good); Lauren, 'The Woman Who is Her Own Man' (Taraji P. Henson); Candace, 'The Single Mother' (Regina Hall); and Kristen, 'The Woman that Wants the Ring' (Gabrielle Union). I'm paraphrasing the roles a bit as I didn't take notes during the movie, but anyway...

The women, looking for a way out of their dating ruts, turn to Steve Harvey's book for advice.  Think Like a Man feels like an updated and more realistic version of He's Just Not That Into You, a book I actually did read.  Rather than just repeating the mantra 'he's just not that into you', Think Like a Man is more about understanding how men think and turning the tables on that to get what you want.  I don't mean that necessarily in a manipulative way or actually becoming more like a man, but just trying to understand why men behave the way the do when dating.

Interspersed through the film you have Harvey chiming in, either in interview form or just speaking to the audience reciting themes or rules from his book.  He talks about things like setting your standards, not giving 'it' up too soon, being respected, keeping your power, etc.  There's actually some good advice in there, that is, if you haven't heard it already.  Some of the stuff he says seems to be common sense.  I haven't read either of his dating books, so I'm not going to go into whether or not they are any good.  However, at times, the movie felt like an extended commercial for his book.  You see many scenes of women frantically rushing to book stores, buying up all the copies, carrying it around everywhere, reading it constantly, etc.  It felt a bit contrived.

Initially, the advice seems to be working for the ladies.  However, things change when the men finally become aware of the book and try to take the power back.  This leads to a lot bad lying and things backfiring on everyone.  It also leads to some of the funnier and more uncomfortable moments in the film.  You know when you catch someone in a lie and they go, 'Huh?  What?  I don't think I said that."  Stuff like that.  Part of the message that comes out of all this is that while you should have certain expectations, nobody is perfect and you can't try to change people too much.

You still have your typical rom-com conventions here and that's my main disappointment about the film.  The way this started, I thought it may end up being more of a shrewd or keen look at modern dating, but ended up being more of a standard romantic comedy, particularly with how it wraps up.  It doesn't really take as many chances as I was hoping.  Think Like a Man is only  PG-13, so it's not raunchy, has any nudity and I really don't recall much in the way of bad language.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as I think it helps make the movie accessible to more people.  Like if I had a kid, I wouldn't feel like they couldn't watch this.  On the other hand, I think being safe or going for the lower rating might have taken away some of the bite this could have had.

What saves it is that Think... is actually pretty funny. It started out a little rough due to some really tired jokes used and I was worried that this was going to be stale, but once Think... got it's legs, it really seemed to take off.  Also, the cast is extremely attractive and you like everyone in it. The guys in particular were really easy to identify with and it's easy to see you hanging out with them, grabbing a beer or playing ball. That's not to say that the women aren't good as well.  They all come off as normal people just looking to meet the right one.  Nobody ever seems too crazy or unrealistic.

While I thought guys like Michael Ealy, Romany Malco and Meagan Good (god damn!) stood out, the real star of the film was Kevin Hart.  He's a comedic dynamo!  In most of the movies I've seen him in, he's been relegated to smaller, supporting roles, but here he really gets a chance to shine and show how funny he is.  He steals every scene he's in and elevated the film to beyond just an average rom-com.

As you might expect, I have a few minor complaints.  It does run a little long, just over two hours, and started to feel bogged down with all the characters and their stories.  I think even director Tim Story knew this, as it seemed like every time the pacing was slowing down a bit, Kevin Hart would appear and bring up the energy.  I haven't been a big fan of Tim Story due to his work on the Fantastic Four movies (not all his fault though), but I think he did a much better job here of working with a large ensemble cast.

As I said, the length was a minor complaint, because with this large of a cast, you run the risk of neglecting a character, which wouldn't be fair to everyone in the film.  They even had to have Kevin Hart's character narrate throughout the movie to keep things moving along and not make the run time even longer.  As much as I liked the cast, it might have helped to maybe remove one of the couples, 'The Mama's Boy', perhaps, and this would have tightened up the movie significantly.  The screenplay was written by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, who wrote last summer's Friends With Benefits. While I think they could have trimmed the screenplay down a bit, I think it's another good effort on their part. 

These next points might be a little spoilerific, so skip until the end if you plan on seeing this right away:

Another thing that kind of put me off is that you never meet 'Happily Married Guy's' wife.  He's the one guy throughout the film that's in a stable relationship and says sweet things about her and his marriage, but even at the very end when all of the couples are together, his wife is nowhere to be seen.  That just seemed odd to me and a missed opportunity to have a funny payoff when introducing his wife to the audience.  It seemed like even the rest of the gang didn't even really know who his wife was.

One thing that got a collective groan from the audience was that Chris Brown makes an appearance at the beginning, but it's not much more than a cameo.  This leads me to believe that he may have been in this more, but they cut his role due his current 'popularity'.  I'm just speculating here, so don't quote me on this.  That's just the feeling I got. 

Like with other movies, some of the characters live in immaculate places, in LA no less, that look like they most cost a fortune to live in.  Yet some of them never really go into detail about what they do for a living, so you're watching and going, how do these people pay for this stuff?  We don't know what they do for a living, you never see them working no matter what time of the day it is, but live in huge lofts in expensive areas.  When you hear people sitting around you making comments about this, it's clear that it's something that's getting noticed and not buying into anymore.

Here's another a weird thing, and this it a total spoiler, so be be warned.  I saw this the day after seeing The Five-Year Reunion (review coming next week) and that also has Kevin Hart in a supporting role.  Both movies involve a character that's a chef and they eventually open their own food truck.  Happy Endings on ABC (which is a very funny show) also has a character that fits this type.  This seems like a character type that's in real danger of being overused.  Seriously, how many people do you know that are chefs for one, but that also went into business for themselves with their own food truck?  I guess Hollywood thinks everyone does and that we all must identify with it.

This is all nitpicking though.  It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the film.

Think Like a Man isn't an amazing film, but it is consistently funny, has a likable, attrative cast and something I think most people will enjoy.  While I don't think it will 'change the game', I do think it might guide some people to look at the way they approach relationships a little bit.  If anything, I'm sure it will sell a few more copies of Steve Harvey's book, so I'm sure he's thrilled!  I'd say it's worth a matinee.

3.5 (out of 5) Death Stars