Movie Review

Comedy all-stars Jack Black and Paul Rudd can't save Anaconda sequel

Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

Photo by Matt Grace

In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

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Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

movies film

Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas presents How the Other Half Loves

Photo by Mike Morgan Photography

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This weekend in and around Dallas will be comedy and theater heavy, with four national comedians coming to town and four local theater companies putting on new productions. Other choices include a symphony concert, a concert by a music legend, a film festival aimed at kids, and the final days of a notable art exhibition and a big light display.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. If you want more options, check out the calendar for an even longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, January 15

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Luisi Conducts Bruckner’s Ninth"
The latest Dallas Symphony Orchestra concert will feature just one piece, Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, the Austrian composer's epic, final symphonic masterpiece that was unfinished at the time of his death in 1896. Conducted by Fabio Luisi, the concert will be performed on both Thursday and Friday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Improv Addison presents Tony Rock
Being the brother of an established entertainer, Tony Rock was able to successfully elude the shadows of his older sibling and step into his own limelight. Rock has proven himself as one of the most talented, well-respected entertainers in the business. After years of experience, Rock has proven himself as a skillful comedian and actor. He'll perform six times through Sunday at Improv Addison.

Rover Dramawerks presents The Lady Demands Satisfaction
When a young maiden who has never touched a sword learns she must defend her inheritance in a duel, she calls upon her domineering aunt - the finest blade anywhere - to help save her house and lands. As she meekly learns to fence, she struggles with a milksop suitor, a servant girl posing as a Prussian fencing master, a Prussian fencing master who thinks he is there to marry her, and a stodgy lawyer who expects her to be killed at any moment. Like all classic farces, everyone gets the ending they deserve in unexpected ways … but will they be satisfied? The production runs through February 1 at Cox Playhouse in Plano.

Friday, January 16

Punch Line Irving presents Leslie Jones
Leslie Jones is a three-time Emmy Award nominee as well as a Writer's Guild Award and NAACP Award nominee for her work on Saturday Night Live. She has also been honored as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People. She has appeared on the HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death, in Coming 2 America, and co-hosts the podcast The Fckry with comedian Lenny Marcus. She'll perform four times through Saturday at Punch Line Irving.

Echo Theatre presents Echo Sings: Silhouettes
In the new musical Silhouettes, two women meet in a Chicago clinic and face decisions about abortion, motherhood, and personal autonomy. Matters of choice echo through decades in the 75-minute musical for two, plus a chorus. This free workshop production will have performances on Friday and Saturday at Bath House Cultural Center.

Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas presents How the Other Half Loves
There are three couples in How the Other Half Loves, the men all working for the same firm. One of the younger men is having an affair with the wife of the oldest, and when each returns home suspiciously late one night or early one morning, they invent a story about having to spend some time smoothing domestic matters in the home of the third couple. The production runs through January 31 at Irving Arts Center.

Shakespeare Dallas presents Macbeth
Shakespeare Dallas will present a classical staging of Macbeth, also referred to superstitiously as "The Scottish Play." The tragedy involves three witches telling a Scottish general that he will be King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth slays the king and becomes the new king, resulting in civil war and deep unrest. The production runs through February 1 at Theatre Three.

Mavis Staples in concert
It would probably be easier to say who singer Mavis Staples hasn't worked with than who she has over her nearly 70-year career in the music business. First gaining notice as part of the gospel/R&B group The Staples Sisters, Mavis embarked on a solo venture in 1969, eventually working with everyone from Aretha Franklin to Bob Dylan to Gorillaz. She'll perform at Longhorn Ballroom in support of her 2025 album, Sad and Beautiful World.

Rory Scovel: Know Your Enemy Tour
Actor, comedian, and writer Rory Scovel is fresh off his 2024 HBO Max comedy special, Rory Scovel: Religion, Sex, and a Few Things in Between. He was recently seen starring alongside Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell in the Amazon romantic comedy, You're Cordially Invited. He'll perform at Texas Theatre as part of his Know Your Enemy Tour.

Saturday, January 17

42nd Annual KidFilm Family Festival
The 42nd Annual KidFilm Family Festival, presented by USA Film Festival, will feature screenings of nine new animated and live-action feature films, as well as three showcases featuring 22 animated and live-action short films. The highlight of the festival will be a preview screening of The Pout-Pout Fish, based on the best-selling children's book by Deborah Diesen. Diesen will be on hand for the screening, which will be followed by a book signing of the new book, The Pout-Pout Fish Movie Storybook, which will be distributed for free to kids while supplies last. The festival takes place at Angelika Film Center in Dallas on Saturday and Sunday.

Matt McCusker: The Healing Frequency Tour
Matt McCusker is a comedian, writer, and co-host of Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast. After spending much of his young life engaging in mostly non-violent criminal activity, McCusker has dedicated the rest of his days toward the pursuit of peace and harmony. He has also written two books, most notably his novel Overlook: A Story About Drugs, Disappointment, and the American Dream. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Sunday, January 18

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Return to Infinity: Yayoi Kusama" closing day
Sunday will be the final day to view Yayoi Kusama’s All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins at the Dallas Museum of Art. An iteration of the artist’s iconic “Infinity Mirrored Rooms,” the installation incorporates one of the artist’s quintessential symbols, the pumpkin. The boundary-pushing experiential work draws on several of Kusama’s characteristic themes, including infinity, the sublime, and obsessive repetition, allowing the viewer to literally become a part of the art.

Tianyu Lights Festival closing day
Sunday will also be the last day to see Tianyu Lights Festival, an immersive light show that features two themed displays straight from the imagination of 7-year-old boy Koda. Starlit Farm captures the peaceful beauty of summer nights in the countryside, while Magic Ocean dives deep into an illuminated undersea world of reefs and dreamlike creatures. Each evening, live cultural performances add to the magic, featuring the mask-changing art of Face Changing (Bianlian), acrobatics, and the graceful Peacock Dance. The event takes place in the the festival grounds of Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Photo by Mike Morgan Photography

Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas presents How the Other Half Loves, January 16-31, at Irving Arts Center.

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