6A - Monday, January 13, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
6A - Monday, January 13, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
PA RAMOUNT
Brick still loves lamp.
Comedy 'Legend'
fails to continue
'Anchorman' sequel
fails to live up
to the original
By CONRAD FOREMAN
Daily Arts Writer
2013 was a great year for mov-
ies - a new Scorsese/DiCaprio
collaboration in "The Wolf of
Wall Street,"
another (+
David O.
Russell act- Anchorman 2:
ing clinic in TheLe end
"American
Hustle" and Continues
"12 Years a
Slave," one Rave 20 and
of the most Quality 16 -
powerful Paramount
stories ever
told on film
- were just a few of the impres-
sive achievements brought to
the big screen this year.
However, for die-hard Will
Ferrell ("Step Brothers") fans,
as well as stoners (perhaps
some overlap there?), the most
anticipated movie of the year
may have been "Anchorman 2:
The Legend Continues - " the
long-awaited sequel to 2004's
"Anchorman: The Legend of
Ron Burgundy."
This time around, Burgundy
(Ferrell) and his news team find
another opportunity to broad-
cast news in their own distinct
style, now across the coun-
try from New York, after Ron
loses his dream job to his wife,
Veronica (Christina Applegate,
TV's "Married With Children").
In this continuation of the leg-
end, the news team toes the
line of journalistic ethics and
confronts their own deteriorat-
ing friendship, while Ron Bur-
gundy struggles between his
ambition as an anchorman and
his desire to be a good husband
and father.
To (insultingly) oversimplify
it, you have two directions you
can go with comedy: you can be
silly, but witty and intelligent
(i.e. one of the silliest/smartest
shows on TV, "Community"); or
you can be stupid, but serious.
The first "Anchorman" is clas-
sic stupid-but-serious comedy.
The characters say and do ridic-
ulous things, but because they
take it (and themselves) so seri-
ously, the style works despite
the dumbed-down comedy.
"Anchorman 2" is as stupid
as its predecessor, but the story
gets lost in its silliness and fails
to recapture its charm.
Ferrell and director Adam
McKay ("The Other Guys") go
out of their way to pay homage
to the first film, which is cute
and funny at times, but mostly
feels forced. Rather than build-
ing on the magic of the first
installment, the second rides on
its coattails.
Where the film excels is in its
social commentary, which plays
a much bigger role in this sec-
ond go-round. Through their
own desire for ratings, the news
team unwittingly spawns a new
era of reporting, littered with
sound-bytes, car chases, sex
and drugs. As Burgundy says,
"Why do we have to tell the
people what they need to hear?
Why can't we just tell them
what they want to hear?"
The moral lessons Burgundy
learns in the sequel are also
more significant. In the first
film, he's able to find happi-
ness with Veronica despite her
success, but that happiness is
still contingent upon his own
success as an anchorman. We
quickly discover that he hasn't
learned much of anything. "2"
demonstrates a much greater
change in Burgundy, as he
finally learns to accept familial
harmony as a greater joy than
professional success.
In the end, though, "Anchor-
man 2: The Legend Continues"
falls flat - the brilliance found
in the spontaneous stupidity
of the first film is absent. And
at its best, the film is a you-
knew-it-was-coming barrage
of cameos that are only mildly
entertaining.
Who said longboarding wasn't cool?
Not-so-secret plot in
dreamy 'Walter Mitty'
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By CONRAD FOREMAN
DailyArts Writer
"To see the world, things dan-
gerous to come to, to see behind
walls, draw closer, to find each
other and to
feel. That isB
the purpose
of life." The Secret
"The Life of Walter
Secret Life
of Walter Mitty
Mitty" lives Rave 20 and
by this creed,
which serves Quality 16
as the motto 20th Century Fox
for Life Mag-
azine in the
story. Using this mantra as its
guide, the film tells the tale of
a man who seizes control of his
life for the first time.
The most recent adaptation
of James Thurber's 1939 short
story (which was first adapted
to film in 1947) stars Ben Still-
er ("Zoolander") as the titular
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BEST OF ANN ARBOR 201
character, a negative assets
manager at Life Magazine with
a habit of slipping into elaborate
daydreams that exemplement
his mundane existence. Walter
finds himself in hot water when
he can't locate the photograph
that's supposed to serve as the
final cover of Life, which is con-
verting to an online publication.
The predicament launches Wal-
ter on a journey of self-fulfill-
ment and discovery, one which
transforms his daydreams into
an adrenaline-packed reality.
Stiller's performance carries
just the right amount of trepi-
dation and wishfulness, but his
direction provides the magic.
A wonderful sequence at the
beginning of Walt's adventure
places the aforementioned Life
motto onto the background
scenery, and a beautiful match-
cut with water is one of the
most memorable, fluid transi-
tions of the year. The dream
sequences are creative and
funny, although one in par-
ticular (a fight scene between
Walter and his boss, in which
they concrete-surf through the
streets of New York) drags on
too long.
Kristen Wiig ("Bridesmaids")
plays Cheryl Melhoff, Walter's
newly hired co-worker and love
interest (and thus a main sub-
ject in many of his daydreams).
More understated than in her
usual roles, Wiig is charming
and cute as a single mom facing
an almost assured lay-off from
her new job.
Behind all the main plot-
driving forces is Walt's account
on the dating website eHar-
mony, which has received zero
"winks." Throughout the film,
he receives phone calls from
Todd (Patton Oswalt, "Rata-
touille"), whose commitment
to "beefing up" Walter's profile
is either phenomenal customer
service or borderline harass-
ment. The hilarious subplot is a
key part of why "Walter Mitty"
is successful.
Predictable
storylines,
comforting
themes.
The main reason the film
works, though, is Walter's relat-
ability. His problems include
dealing with changing fam-
ily dynamics, confronting his
new asshole boss (Adam Scott,
"Step Brothers") and gathering
his courage to finally approach
the woman he admires. These
are problems virtually every-
one has faced at one point, and
Walter's daring adventure deals
with them in a way that every-
one wishes they could recreate.
While the message of the film
is obvious on the surface (just
check out the tagline: "Stop
Dreaming. Start Living."), it's
ironic that Walter only truly
lives when his reality becomes
dream-like, as opposed to find-
ing solace and peace in his
everyday life.
The end is predictable, the
lessons have been taught many
times before and most view-
ers will never have adventures
quite as grand as Walter. Still,
his "Secret Life" is a story
worth telling - and re-telling -
and worth experiencing on the
big screen.
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