Kristen Wiig joins 'Anchorman 2' in perfect fit as Brick's wife
The sequel to the comedy classic keeps adding more names to the party
Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell had fun at this year's Golden Globes, and now it looks like she'll be joining him for more fun in 'Anchorman: The Legend Continues'
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I have a feeling you're going to see a lot of announcements about actors joining the cast of the upcoming sequel to "Anchorman," and when we see the final film, many of those people will end up playing one or two scenes at most. It's going to be a positively ridiculous cast, and that's because the original film has become a huge favorite for pretty much anyone working in film comedy right now. This is going to be a case where anyone Adam McKay wants, he's going to get.
Christina Applegate was the one who broke the news on Twitter, which is starting to become one of the most reliable sources of breaking casting information when people like Bryan Singer can't wait to share something. In this case, I can imagine Appelgate's got to be happy to be adding some funny female energy to what is already a very large roster of very funny dudes. Kristen Wiig will be onboard playing the wife of Brick Tamland, Steve Carrell's character from the first film. Carrell is just one of the returning characters, of course. Will Ferrell is back as Ron Burgundy, Paul Rudd will be Brian Fantana once more, David Koechner will return as Champ Kind, and Applegate is going to reprise her role as Veronica Corningstone. Just typing the character names again makes me happy. I was an early fan of the script, and I was thrilled when it was not only made, but when it turned out to be as consistently funny as it was. It seemed like it was such a gamble for the first film to get made that it's sort of amazing to be writing news stories about a sequel now.
I can sometimes get cynical about the way business decisions are made sometimes in this industry. Just this morning, I found the "Thunderbirds Are Go!" announcement to be sort of depressing because it seems like the sort of calculated move that is squeezing original work out of the marketplace. "Anchorman" was a case of a studio finally taking a risk on something that they had been developing for a while and while it wasn't an immediate blockbuster, it has been such a strong performer over time that it basically laid the foundation for Will Ferrell's entire starring career, and it has finally convinced Paramount to reassemble the Action News team.
I know very little about the script in its current form. They have taken several runs at a script for the sequel, and at one point it was a musical, while in another incarnation, it evidently dealt with the rise of 24 hour cable news channels in the '80s. Whatever they end up doing, it's just exciting to see everyone so pleased to be getting back together, and we'll see how it comes together at the end of the year.
"Anchorman: The Legend Continues" will arrive in theaters December 20, 2013.
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February 5, 2013 at 9:19AM EST Reply to CommentPeople got so excited when they announced a sequel that they ignored the likelihood that the movie would suck rather than be as good/better than the first. Adding Kristen Wiig to the cast confirms my suspicions.
/3rt She played a small role in the original Stan.
February 5, 2013 at 10:05AM ESTKafka The original was the worst film I've paid money to see in 30 years. Even Whig can't help the awful dialog and Ferrel's lack of talent and inherent hamminess.
February 5, 2013 at 11:18AM ESTchris Why does the addition of Kristen Wiig mean the movie would suck? Wiig's very funny. She was often the best thing on SNL, and "Bridesmaids" is one of the better comedies of the past few years.
February 5, 2013 at 3:31PM ESTmmcb105 Your comment isn't necessarily bad Kafka, assuming of course that you have only seen fantastic movies in the past thirty years. Or have only paid to see Anchorman.
February 5, 2013 at 3:50PM ESTCinemaPsycho So let's see Kafka, you don't like Will Ferrell, you don't get his sense of humor, but you PAID to see a movie starring him. Hmmm... what did you expect the movie to be like, I wonder? Did you think it would somehow NOT be a Will Ferrell movie? Maybe you should have considered that that particular movie was, I don't know, NOT FOR YOU.
February 6, 2013 at 3:20AM ESTKafka CinemaPsycho- I get his sense of humor I just don't find it funny. It's not hard to get Jr. High level schtick after all. But since you are taking me to task because I paid money to see him even though I should have known I didn't like him let's examine that accusation shall we?
February 6, 2013 at 1:55PM ESTWhen I paid money to see "Anchorman" my exposure to Will Ferrell, in fact, everyone's exposure to him, was limited to his bits on Saturday Night Live, a few small parts in a few forgettable films and his ONE turn as the male lead in a film in "Elf. One. That's it. Ferrell was OK in SNL because he was limited to bits often written by much better writers than he is. I view Ferrell much like I view Jim Carrey, tolerable and sometimes funny in small doses (i.e Carrey in "In Living Color") but not able to reign themselves in and not become annoying in a long form film. Now Ferrell had been pretty good in his only previous starring role (Elf) because he was basically required to act like a eight year old boy. It wasn't a great movie but OK and had its moments of charm. So, I willingly paid money to see Ferrell in his next lead role thinking I might find another amusing performance. I was wrong. Anchorman is everything that is wrong with Will Ferrell. Bloated, over the top and tedious. It has one good scene (the TV crew gang fight)and one outstanding performance (Steve Carell) neither of which is enough to make the film watchable. Ferrell is particularly hammy and over the top which is what he seems to mistake for funny. It's just not.
So yes, I paid money to see Will Ferrell but I did so before I knew how lousy he is as a comedic leading man. I have not made that mistake again. My original point was that Whig, as funny as she is, won't rescue Anchorman 2. If Steve Carell couldn't do it I don't think Whig can. I stand by that point.
This leads me to an interesting (to me) anomaly. Both Ferrell and Carrey have starred in films that I listed in my favorite films of their year of release. Neither film was a comedy. Carrey is wonderful in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (one of my favorite films of the last 20 years) and I really liked Ferrell in the under-appreciated "Everything Must Go". If someone could convince Ferrell and Carrey to give up on comedy and seek out more serious roles it would be a good thing for film.
All the above is, of course, my opinion. YMMV.
mmcb105 What comedies DO you find funny?
February 6, 2013 at 2:06PM ESTKafka Well, the last couple of years have been pretty awful for comedy film but off the top of my head I liked:
February 6, 2013 at 2:24PM EST21 Jump Street
Cedar Rapids
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
Young Adults
Moonrise Kingdom
I'me sure there are others I just don't remember. And it's not like I only like more cerebral comedy. My favorite film maker of all time is Jacques Tati who made nothing but physical comedy films.
Cynical Jackass
February 5, 2013 at 1:10PM EST Reply to CommentSo to recap: If it's a reboot or sequel to something Drew doesn't care about or like, he's depressed that it's keeping something original from entering the marketplace. But if it's something he likes, he's totally fine with a sequel or reboot keeping something original from entering the marketplace.
mmcb105 Wow, I think you just nailed how personal preference works. Good job!
February 5, 2013 at 3:53PM ESTSo to recap what you are implying: No sequels or reboots can be good (even Godfather II, Empire Strikes Back, The Thing, etc.), and people should not get excited about the things that they like.
Logic is evidently not your friend.
Beef Supreme 1. It would be perfectly reasonable to be excited to see more of something you like, even if it takes the place of something original, and less excited to see more of something you dislike, especially if it takes the place of something original.
February 5, 2013 at 9:56PM EST2. I could've sworn there was a reference to Thunderbirds there earlier. But Drew spoke of that one in fairly positive terms, so maybe you deleted it, since it contradicted what you said. Or maybe I'm crazy.
Bananaman
February 5, 2013 at 2:32PM EST Reply to CommentI simply look forward to spending time with these characters again. It can't fail as far as I'm concerned. The thought of Brick's facial expressions just makes me laugh.
chris
February 5, 2013 at 3:37PM EST Reply to Comment"Anchorman" is still one of my favorite comedies, just for its sheer looniness. McKay and Ferrell's director/actor collaborations have been pretty consistently funny, so this is one I'm looking forward to. And Wiig's humor should be a good pairing with Carrell.
Brad Majors
February 5, 2013 at 5:58PM EST Reply to CommentWell, Tommy Lee Jones will not pay to see this, I Can tell you that...
GuanoLad
February 5, 2013 at 9:28PM EST Reply to CommentI watched Anchorman for the first time just the other day. I am not a Will Ferrell fan so had avoided it, but as I liked him okay in some more recent films (e.g. The Other Guys) I thought I'd finally give it a go.
I laughed three times, though they were mostly just smirks. I think it's clear that modern comedy just doesn't work for me if one of the most defining comedy movies of the 2000s can't get me going.
Beef Supreme
February 5, 2013 at 10:01PM EST Reply to CommentIt took me three tries to get through "Anchorman". I think it's poorly paced, and there is not enough plot to support the mostly rather uninteresting and dull characters. And I'm someone that really liked "MacGruber", so my bar isn't very high...
But it works great in small doses on YouTube, and it's one of those movies that I smile when I think about individual moments, and it's eminently quotable and fun to talk about. A perfect example of a movie that's more fun to have seen than actually see. I have little interest in seeing the sequel, but the addition of Kristen Wiig makes it a little more appealing (again, MacGruber! :))