It’s been nearly two decades since classic newsroom comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. The titular character has arguably become Will Ferrell’s most iconic role and the endless quotability of its many improvised scenes has made it one that’s easy to revisit. As it turns out, the comedy heavyweights involved in the first film riffed so much on set that they captured enough footage to make an entirely new film. Released as a DVD/Blu-ray extra back in 2004, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie represents the team’s first attempt at a sequel.
The film is comprised of alternate takes and deleted scenes from the original production, pieced together into a semi-coherent story. It follows the vague trajectory of the film you know and love, but with the addition of a bank-robbing revolutionary group that calls themselves “The Alarm Clock”.
Despite operating without a clear understanding of what they’re fighting for, The Alarm Clock manages to kidnap Veronica (Christina Applegate) and Ron into their live TV broadcast. This storyline features a lot of prominent comedy actors absent from the original: Maya Rudolph plays Pam Grier, a member of The Alarm Clock, Poehler is a bank clerk, and Justin Long is the son of Fred Willard’s TV station chief.
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Unlike the original, Ron and Veronica are already together, but their competitiveness over the coveted lead anchor spot remains a source of dramatic tension within the story. Wake Up, Ron Burgundy is almost less of a sequel and more of a weird alternate version of the movie that was released.
Eventually, the Channel 4 news comrades would assemble in a more official manner in 2013’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and Wake Up, Ron Burgundy was largely forgotten about. It’s definitely optional viewing. It doesn’t have the rhythm or flow of a classic comedy given the nature of its existence. However, if you’re really keen on seeing more from Ron Burgundy, Brick Tamland, Champ Kind, and Brian Fantana, then it definitely is more than a glorified DVD extra.
You can watch Wake Up, Ron Burgundy on Apple TV, YouTube, and Google Play.
