Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) – Review

Review: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is a glorified gag-reel, very funny in moments but without much of a satisfying story. The film finds Ron Burgundy and his wife Veronica Corningstone in New York City reading national network news. However, everything changes when Veronica is promoted to primetime and Ron is fired. Ron cannot handle it and blows up his marriage, retreating back to San Diego where he falls further into a state of despair. After a few months of spiraling anguish, Ron is courted by Freddie Shapp, a news producer charged with finding talent for a new 24-hour news channel Global News Network (GNN). Now, Ron must reunite his news team and reestablish himself as a newsman, in the hopes of winning back his family.

Actor-writer Will Ferrell and writer-director Adam McKay made a name for themselves in feature films with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Thus, it was probably only a matter of time before they eventually found their way back to the character(s). With Anchorman 2, the comedy team has made a film that seems to exploit all the jokes of the first film taking them to the excess, priming fans to gorge themselves. The jokes that resonated the most with fans in the first film have been exaggerated and squeezed for every possible bit of funny still left in them.

The characters too have ballooned. They were already caricatures to some extent, but here they have become parodies of themselves. Everything that fans loved about them has been mined to completion. Yes, a lot of the material is very funny but overall it is just a barrage of comedy with any and every joke being flung at the audience, hoping some will hit (but many miss).

It is almost too much really. The sole purpose of the film seems to be rehashing all the old jokes, while sprinkling in a few new ones, in an effect to play on the nostalgia of fans (while still giving them some new great and memorable lines). To this end, the film is very successful, as ultimately there are many really great jokes and moments that carry the film (really, there are so many jokes and types of jokes that everyone will find at least a few parts and lines very funny).

But as a narrative film, Anchorman 2 is pretty weak. The story seems like an afterthought – nothing more than a mechanism to get from one set of jokes to the next. And while the main purpose of the film is to make fans of the characters and first film laugh again, one might hope that the filmmakers would still consider a sound story and narrative structure a priority (as the first film does have a good story which the jokes are built upon). Yet, that is just not the case. Without a solid foundation, no matter how funny the jokes are, the film just feels like a lessor entity (which is too bad).

Following in the footsteps of The Newsroom (though, not to quite the same extent), Anchorman 2 does do a decent job of shaming the farce that is America’s current news programming. It is not subtle about it either, clearly pointing out how news has become about entertaining rather than informing. It is nice to see that the film has some higher aspirations and social awareness.

All in all, though, Anchorman 2 is still a worthwhile endeavor, even with the somewhat nonexistent plot. The great successes of many of the jokes (winning over the many that fall flat) make the film very entertaining, and probably a film worth returning to many times (much like the first), allowing the jokes to catch the viewer in different ways. And yet, it basically plays as not much more than a gag-reel with very funny people saying and doing anything and everything to get a laugh.

Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay were atop the comedy world with films like Anchorman, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Step Brothers, but their recent output has found them wanting. The Other Guys and now Anchorman 2 have prized jokes over story, when their past work managed to find the right balance. Yes, their films continue to be hilarious and entertaining, which to some degree is all one could really want from a comedy, but their weak narratives also leave them feeling a bit like throwaway comedies – films to be laughed at and then forgotten.

Composers Andrew Feltenstein and John Nau, cinematographer Oliver Wood, and production designer Clayton Hartley all do a good job of recreating the world and feel of Anchorman. The look and tone of the film are spot on, but really this film is just about the jokes.

The film is jam-packed with celebrity cameos (to varying degrees of comical success). Of these many cameos, Harrison Ford and especially John C. Reilly turn in very funny moments. Kristen Wiig is funny as Brick’s female counterpart Chani (but really, none of her stuff is among the film’s best). Meagan Good turns in what is probably her best comedic performance to date as Ron’s boss Linda Jackson. Christina Applegate is good again here as Veronica, as she balances her love for Ron and career drive. David Koechner was a bit of a one-note joke as Champ in the first film, and that is mostly true again with Anchorman 2, but his “Whammy!” catchphrase continues to be pretty funny. Paul Rudd has some great moments again, even if Brian Fantana is almost entirely relegated to reworking the same jokes from the first (cologne collection substituted for condom collection – though some of his lines in this bit are hilarious). Steve Carell as Brick is really the breakthrough character of the film, seeing an expanded role. And in this, Carell steals the film with many of the best comedy moments. He is brilliant. Will Ferrell is just so charismatic as Ron Burgundy. Even if he is playing the same jokes over again, it is hard not to watch him with a smile and a chuckle (which often grows to a roar).

Summary & score: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is everything fans could have hoped for comically/nostalgically – playing a bit like a greatest hits album, but as a narrative film it falls short. 6/10

Movie of the Week – Magnolia

Movie of the week: Magnolia (1999).

The ensemble drama focuses on a group of people living in the San Fernando Valley.

Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson went to a different level with his filmmaking with his third film Magnolia (expanding on the ensemble idea crafted and grown in Hard Eight and Boogie Nights). The style of Anderson’s directing and his fantastic writing give the film so much emotional depth and resonance. It is an experience all cinema fans should have. Anderson has made six films to date, and while There Will Be Blood and The Master (his two latest) might be is best, Magnolia is his first great film.

Anderson worked with many of his frequent collaborators on the film, including composer Jon Brion (three Anderson films), cinematographer Robert Elswit (five Anderson films) and production designers William Arnold (two Anderson films) and Mark Bridges (all six Anderson films).

The great and diverse cast features Anderson frequents Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall, Alfred Molina, Melora Walters, Luis Guzman, Ricky Jay, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as stars like Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, and Felicity Huffman. Also, look out for cameos from Patton Oswalt, Thomas Jane, Clark Gregg, and Jim Beaver.

The 1990s featured a few brilliant ensemble films that changed filmmaking (The Player, The Thin Red Line, Boogie Nights, Glengarry Glen Ross, Heat, and Reservoir Dogs), but two stand out above the rest: Pulp Fiction and Magnolia. The film was nominated for three Oscars including Best Supporting Actor (for Tom Cruise) and Best Writing. It is among the films that are mandatory viewing for those looking to have a strong working knowledge of film history/aesthetics, auteur filmmakers and the great films of the 1990s.

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray, DVD and Streaming

Carnage (2011) – Review

Review: Carnage is a claustrophobic comedy. Based on the play Le Dieu du Carnage, the film is about two sets of parents that amicably meet to discuss an incident involving their sons – it degrades quickly. Director Roman Polanski affects the viewer with his choices in this film that essentially takes place completely in one room, creating a piece that frustrates, causes anxiety and even gets on the nerves of its viewer yet is at the same time hilarious. It is a dangerous game Polanski plays with his audience – one that is not going to work for everyone, as I can see someone hating this as easily as loving it. The main culprit is that Polanski has the Cowans almost leave a number of times, but they just keep getting dragged back in, seemingly worsening the conflict each time (why can’t they just get out of there?!?). Polanski has it boil over then dissipate only to froth up again. However, the characters are fantastic (and played very well). Those that will ultimately like this film will be the viewers that take the characters at face value and just enjoy them. Most comedies these days play off juvenile circumstances or characters, but this is different (at least initially). Polanski presents adult characters – only to be reduced to seemingly juveniles by cracking under the pressures of societal norms. In a way, Polanski is saying that we are all children at heart (or baser animals once society is stripped away) and the brilliance of this film is watching these characters, all very much rooted in adult society, crumble giving into their emotions and agendas. Issues with the film mainly arise from the way the film interacts with its viewer – not all audience members will want to be emotionally engaged to the extent that Polanski intends. The ending seems a bit abrupt as well – but it does work with the epilogue, however. Carnage is very funny, but is much more than just a comedy as it deconstructs modern society.

Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: Roman Polanski has made many great films, but I cannot think of another comedy. He makes the argument that the best directors can make a great film in any genre, and Polanski is certainly one of the best. I do not remember much music during the meat of the film, but the prologue has a great piece written by Alexandre Desplat (who scored the film). Pawel Edelman (who shoots all Polanski’s films, recently) does fantastic work, especially working with Polanski to block and frame each scene. This is the best aesthetic aspect of the film. While the characters are mostly trapped in one room, Polanski still has them constantly moving, keeping a kinetic energy going which keeps it from feeling dull. The production design by Dean Tavoularis is also very good. The Longstreet apartment is very telling in many ways. Ultimately, however, this is a film that lives or dies with the performances of its actors (there being only four main characters), and they are all on their games. Jodie Foster is so on edge during the whole film; the audience is just waiting for her to explode. Kate Winslet has probably the most rage to cover with Nancy Cowan – and as always she is fantastic. The juxtaposition of her early in the film to later on is a lot of fun. Christoph Waltz plays Alan Cowan as if he is the only important thing in the world, commanding the room. John C. Reilly (probably the least acclaimed of the group) steals much of the film however, as this being a comedy it is right in his wheelhouse. His bursts into juvenility are particularly funny.

Summary & score: Carnage is one of the best comedies of 2011. The audience and characters are trapped in a room, and cannot seem to escape. 8/10

Cedar Rapids (2011) – Review

Cedar Rapids is very funny – mixing a lot of crude humor with small town heartfelt morality, something not often seen in comedies anymore. Director Miguel Arteta crafts a story of a naïve man who faces the corruption of the big city, but what makes this particular telling of the story interesting is how there is certainly a moral lesson and code to the story but the characters mostly sort of rest in the grey area. In the film the initial villains are not so bad and the good guys are really the devious fellows (not that this has not been down before, it is just that it works very well here). Yet, neither good nor bad completely defines any of them, which in term makes them feel real and more relatable to the viewer. Arteta also allows for the performances of John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr. to play big, which works very well considering star Ed Helms is at his best when reacting to those around him. Helm’s character Tim Lippe is a bit of a man-child (somewhat resembling that of many Will Ferrell roles), but unlike most representations of the role he is not a man-child because he is immature and never grew up rather he is merely naïve and without experience outside of his small town. This nuance makes him much more relatable to the audience which in turn engages them in the narrative past just watching it for laughs, and really elevates the comedy and drama of the film. The audience does care about Lippe and his journey’s outcome and are not there merely to laugh at/with him. The film plays out a bit like The Hangover (though on a much smaller scale), and focuses on a few of the same motifs like friendship, but this is not just a film about a crazy weekend with friends. Arteta creates an interesting juxtaposition between the crudeness of the jokes and language used and the overall message – one of being a good person and doing right is above business success and personal success. The film in a sense plays out like a parable, pitting greed and personal gains against sacrifice, friendship and honor, and a coming-of-age story. It is different, and ultimately something that sets this film apart from the barrage of crude comedies. Despite its outside perception of being an exaggerated wild weekend comedy, the film actually feels real and down to earth, which directly stems from its relatable characters and willingness not to pigeonhole characters and situations into one thing. Cedar Rapids is a very good mix of heart and crude humor (something also done well by Judd Apatow).

Technical and acting achievements: Miguel Arteta is a comedy director that also has a strong sense of drama and deeper characters, making his films feel more honest (which is not necessarily something needed in comedy, making it an odd genre, but certainly can only make a film better). I think this is his best film to date. Producer Alexander Payne also has a strong track record of comedies with deeper characters (Sideways being a good example). Aesthetically, the film is fairly straightforward allowing for the performances and comedy to be the focus. That being said, the technical work on the film did not really standout, but fit the mood of the film and style very well. Composer Christophe Beck’s (who does practically ever comedy, well not really, but he does a lot) score is playful and takes full advantage of the film’s local. Visually, the film never felt confined or restricted even though it mostly takes place in a hotel thanks to the work of cinematographer Chuy Chavez and production designer Doug J. Meerdink. The performances, however, are really what make this film great. Sigourney Weaver, Alia Shawkat and Stephen Root are all funny in their supporting roles. However, the stars and soul of the film is the foursome of Helms, Heche, Whitlock Jr., and Reilly. They are all fantastic – each with their moments of sheer hilarity and dramatic emotion (I especially liked the work of Heche and Reilly).

Cedar Rapids is a great comedy, not just because it is funny (which it really is) but because its characters are so charismatic and draw the audience in. 8/10

Cyrus (2010) – Review

Cyrus is a tale of two movies, one is funny and well acted and the other is awfully directed and shot. Sadly, these are the same movie. The film is very awkward and will makes some viewers feel as uncomfortable as its characters, but this humor works well in the story and with the characters presented. They are all a bit off center in their own ways (but aren’t we all). The scenes that work the best are those that are meant to play as comedy. The more serious scenes do not play as well, partially due to the tone of the piece but mostly due to the director’s inability to visually connect the audience with the characters. The directorial style is so clumsy and goes so far out of its way to be ‘indy’ and noticeable that it works against the rest of the film. The viewer must like the film in spite of its visual style. While some directors can make very stylistic movies that are overly noticeable to viewer that completely succeed in connecting with the audience (like Wes Anderson or Steven Soderbergh for example), here the style just looks amateurish and so unpolished that is really takes away from the good film underneath. The director’s sole job is to connect the film to its intended viewers, the Duplass brothers have failed to do that utterly (unless the intended audience is only the select few that enjoy a certain ‘indy’ style of filmmaking that breaks filmmaking rules merely for the sake of it, rather than for the emotional impact that some of these techniques can add to the piece, this film uses them to no effect and to no emotional need or gain, purely because it can). Aside from the visual style, the film does work well and has a number of good scenes, which is a credit to the fine work of the actors. This is what makes the visuals more infuriating. It is not like they ruin some already bad film. They ruin what could have been a very good film. But alas, a film is the combination of everything seen and heard and here they do not compliment each other, rather they conflict. Jay and Mark Duplass do not add anything to the film as directors; they do provide a good script to start, but they must be able to hone their skills visually if they are to succeed as quality filmmakers going forward. The primary production team did not do great work here either, possible hampered by the style set forth by the Duplass brothers. Jas Shelton’s cinematography looks like it was shot with an iPhone camera and really brings nothing to the film. Annie Spitz’s production design does a good job making the viewer believe they are just watching average people living their average lives in average places. Michael Andrews’s score is mostly in the background and does not play a prominent role in the film, which is too bad as the right music could have helped viewers emotionally connect despite the style (and he has done good work in the past). But, the score is in line, like the rest, with the overall style, so the main complaint for the film is on style and with the directors. However, they were able to garner fine performances from their cast. John C. Reilly gives a great performance in the film and his interplay with Jonah Hill creates some of the most funny and best stuff. The film is saved in terms of being enjoyable by his work. Marisa Tomei and Catherine Keener are also good in their roles, but it is Reilly’s movie. Cyrus is disappointing because there is a lot to like, but the film’s style alienates its viewers and leaves them feeling empty. 6/10

Movie of the Week - The Hours

This week’s movie is The Hours (2002).

The film (based on Michael Cunningham’s novel) is about how the novel “Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf affects three generations of women: Virginia Woolf writing the novel, a woman in the 50s’ reading the novel, and a woman in the present who seems to personify Mrs. Dalloway herself. The film is headlined by a brilliant cast including: Nicole Kidman (who won an Oscar for her performance), Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Stephen Dillane, Ed Harris, Claire Danes, John C. Reilly, Jeff Daniels, and Toni Collette. And behind the camera is an equally talented group: Stephen Daldry’s wonderful direction, Seamus McGarvey’s pitch on lighting in each period to compliment Maria Djurkovic’s production design, David Hare’s writing allowing the actors to come alive in their performances, and Philip Glass’ haunting score. What makes the film great is not only all the talent, but that it all works together to make a stunning film. Daldry’s work is so engrossing at times that it makes the viewer (or maybe just me) nervous to see what will happen – the viewer becomes completely emotionally vested in the film. In a year with a lot of great films, The Hours was certainly one of the best. Check out the trailer.

The Hours [DVD]