When Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is passed over for the Nightly News position in favor of his wife (Christina Applegate), he is later tapped to head the newly created 24 hour news channel, news team (Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner) in tow. Anchorman 2 is surprising, stupid fun that patterns the original but improves on its hiccups (notably the battle sequence), and contains many belly laughs and memorable scenes. The cast is game, with additions James Marsden and Greg Kinnear thrown in for good measure and a hilarious cameo from John C. Reilly, except for Carell who is overused in a number of throwaway bits.
*** 1/2 out of ****
