A case of silliness trumping funniness, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues retains that chaotic improve vibe and infectious camaraderie, yet fails to live up to the quality of its predecessor.

The first Anchorman movie was a surprise. A watchable, ever quotable satire on the news that became a part of pop culture, much like fellow ex-Saturday Night Live alumni movies Ghostbusters and Wayne’s World before it. Naturally a sequel was in demand, but just like the two previous films mentioned the idea far outweighed the final product.

Yes, the beloved Channel 4 news team consisting of Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Champ Kind (David Koechner) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) are back. But instead of delivering the news to their beloved state of San Diego , they gang have entered the ‘80s by signing on with Global News Network, the first 24 hour news station to hit the scene.

Frequent collaborators Ferrell and director/co-writer Adam McKay always have a political bent in their movies, whether it be commentating on the financial crisis in The Other Guys or mocking the election process in The Campaign, and while Anchorman was a satire on 1970s news programming (and the chauvinism that came with it) its sequel is a direct dig towards Rupert Murdoch and his Fox News program, complete with a wealthy Aussie character named Kench Allenby (Josh Lawson) calling the shots (that is when Burgundy and his crew can understand what he’s saying).

Throughout Ferrell and his cohorts put the boots into not only how the news is presented on Fox but every other station as well, as Burgundy turns the media world upside down by transforming news reporting into news entertainment. Cue smoking crack on live TV, a focus on scandalous stories, lots of air time given to fluffy animals and a smattering of patriotic pouting, not to mention layers upon layers of graphics wrought upon the TV screen as if there were a fire sale.

Ironically Anchorman 2 itself becomes an oversaturated mess. Considering the first movie already had the volume up to 11, this sequel takes that volume knob, straps it onto a rocket and blasts off into the stratosphere. Half of the problem comes from poor post production. Running at 119 min (almost 30 min more than its original) more editing cuts were needed to make this film flow better, with too many jokes lasting far too long, and too much screen time given to celebrity guest stars who bring nothing more to the table than shock value.

The other half of the problem is that Will Ferell is no longer the head chief amongst this “frat pack”  with Steve Carell and Paul Rudd becoming A-list leading men in their own right, and so with great popularity comes an expansion in their roles. Yet while both Carell and Rudd give their all, it is all for nought with the screenplay (improvised touches and all) not matching the skill set.

This is especially evident with Carell’s performance as mentally challenged weather man Brick, whose off centre proclamations such as “I love lamp” saw him become a fan favourite. Yet Brick is a character that works in small increments. His expanded role not only brings nought to the film (in fact it decreases the level of quality), it’s also representative of the misdirected “bigger is better” philosophy that Anchorman 2 barely lives by.

Not to say there are no funny moments to be had. When you have Ferrell, Rudd, and Carell all swinging for the fences, once and a while a homerun is struck. While the laughs are not consistent, it’s persistent attempts to try and crack us up whether by (poorly) repeating old favourites or going all out with bizarre side plots and the most un-PC lines this side of a Sacha Baron Cohen movie has to be admired.     

What is certain is that a great time was definitely had while making this film and that energetic camaraderie vibrates off the screen. These characters and the actors who play them are beloved by many, hence why demand for a sequel was high. But now the fog has lifted there will be no doubt that many will see Anchorman 2 as one velvet suit, trim moustached, salon quality haired, barely solid sequel to a comedy classic.