The movie opens several years after the first movie ended. Ron and Veronica (Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate) are married now, with a six-year old son. They co-anchor a news show and when the evening news anchor retires, Ron is convinced they will get the primetime gig. Turns out he's half right. Veronica gets the job; Ron gets fired. With his ego bruised beyond repair, Ron leaves his family and sets off to forge his own path. When his agent tells him that someone came up with the revolutionary idea of 24 hour news and wants to start a channel called GNN (Global News Network), Ron is all ears. He travels across the country to recruit the members of his old crew and the greatest team in news is assembled once more.
GNN is headed by Lydia Jackson (Meagan Good), a powerful black woman who is willing to ignore Ron's racist faux-pas if he can garner decent ratings. Given the 2-5 a.m. news slot, that seems unlikely. But Burgundy is full of wild ideas and he hits upon the notion of American news. Give Americans what they want to see, like stories about puppies and porn. With that radical notion, Ron and his team quickly become stars, changing the cable news landscape forever.
Anchorman 2 is an incredibly unsubtle take-down of cable news with its puff pieces and inability to report anything actually newsworthy, complete with a megalomaniac Australian in charge of the news conglomerate that owns GNN. They aren't saying anything that hasn't been said before but they sure have fun saying it. Dave Koechner, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd are all in fine comedic form, Will Ferrell is committed to making Ron as much of a blustery fool as possible, and the film concludes as you would hope with several cameos that will make you cheer out loud. It's a glorious way to spend a lazy afternoon and is a worthy return for America's favorite newsman. Move over Brian Williams, Ron Burgundy's back.
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