3 min to read
Anaconda
Did Jack Black and Paul Rudd make a good Anaconda comedy?
Review: This is one of the movies I’m really glad got made. I love meta and self-referential movies, and while I don’t think this is the best one ever made, I do think it delivers on the comedic elements everyone would want it to, being a great brother/sister movie to Tropic Thunder and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
The movie follows a group of friends wanting/trying to film a legacy sequel to the ’90s Anaconda while being hit by setbacks all along the way. There are 2 main aspects of the movie that I really enjoyed: (1) The dynamic between the friends and (2) the constant changing of the plot.
For the dynamics between the friends, I think they all bounce off of each other so well. Some characters are more crazy while others are more normal, relaxed characters, but each of them bring out the wild in each other. They were friends in high school who made home movies back in the day, and they come back together to try and follow their dreams. Since they have been friends for ages, they are constantly bantering back and forth, bringing out some wonderfully comedic moments between each other. Also, while I absolutely loved the chemistry and fun had between Jack Black and Paul Rudd, I thought Steve Zahn absolutely stole the show. I first saw him in Chad Powers playing Coach Hudson and thought he did a fantastic job, but I absolutely loved how crazy and chaotic his character was, and he brought so many subtle, simple acting choices for the crazy character he plays, cranking the humor in the various scenes to an 11. He made the movie as fun and as crazy and I hoped it would be.
As for the changing of the plot, the movie does this semi-frequently. As they are writing and directing a movie, you are constantly seeing what they are shooting and the story their movie has. Throughout the filming of the movie you see how they keep making changes to the story they are filming in order to make it “better.” As these changes are being made with the movie they are making, all hell keeps breaking loose for the characters (i.e., they are continuously chased by an enormous anaconda), continually screwing up their plans, making them have to constantly make changes to their movie. The constant chaos of everything changing, along with attempting to figure out how they are going to evade the gigantic anaconda to finally shoot the movie they want, is so much fun to watch. Everything and everyone keeps spiraling out of control, and even though the chaos could have been a little more contained and focused, I loved that they were able to make a comedy that didn’t hold back, making this movie as whacky and chaotic as they wanted it to be.
Overall, if you saw the trailers for this movie and thought it would be fun, you get the exact movie you hoped for. The movie takes you on a crazy adventure full of laughs and chaos, being one of the better comedies I’ve seen over the last year or two. I’d recommend this movie for anyone wanting to have a good time.
Rating: 4/5
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