If you’re expecting this to be a remake, forget about it. This film doesn’t make much sense, it’s fairly predictable, and there’s a lot of overacting. But when Jack Black and Paul Rudd get together, there are always hijinks good for laughs. It’s silly, slapstick, with some wacky bits and a few jump scares. They’ve worked together on three films (Forty-year-old Virgin, This is The End and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) but never together until now.
Director Tom Gormican and co-writer Kevin Etten knew they wanted to do some kind of fun spin-off, but definitely not remake the film. They pitched the script but it was hard to get a comedy green lit until they made it clear it would not be a sequel. Black reportedly read it in one night and was all in. Rudd was too. And with those too in the mix, adventure was inevitable.
Childhood buds Doug (Black) and Griff (Rudd) had a dream but as adults, Doug is a wedding videographer who’s a frustrated filmmaker. Griff acted in a TV show and yearns to do more, but now works in a home improvement store. When Griff comes to a party for his childhood buddy Doug, they watch a film they made as kids and talk about making that dream come true. They actually made a VHS movie together as kids, and their favorite movie was the 1997 film, Anaconda.
When Griff tells his buddy that he owns the rights to that movie, they’re off to the races. Doug’s wife is encouraging. She knows how much it would mean to him. Old friends Kenny Trent (Steve Zahn), now a stoner, is also a talented cinematographer. Claire Simons (Thandie Newton) now a lawyer, had a crush on Griff as a kid, and is up for being cast alongside her crush the film. Gormican depended upon Newton to keep the guys on track during the shoot. She’s a smart woman, who literally uses her head.
Now they’re cookin’. They’ve got the rights, raise the money and find a snake handler Carlos Santiago Braga (Selton Mello) who has a trained giant anaconda that will do anything he tells the huge reptile to do on cue.
Director Gormican ran into a few crises having to change locations because of natural disasters including a cyclone in Australia, as the hilarious scenes with the reptile itself, a graphic pee scene, a huge film crew making a film of their own on the Amazon River, and Doug (Black) having to run for his life with a dead boar taped to his neck , and that’s not the most disgusting visual.
Gormican scored his two most sought after cameos of stars from the Anaconda original film at the very last minute while still editing the film. Credit his effort. It’s a very cool surprise.
Jack Black and Paul Rudd play well together. Thandie Newton is the voice of reason and Van Zandt is outrageous. This film is a nice diversion with silly situations based on a sentimental movie loved as kids. Anaconda squeezes out some big laughs.
Sony Pictures 1 hour 39 minutes. PG-13
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