Paul Rudd and Jack Black’s kinda-sorta reboot of Anaconda is pretty dang fun
Courtesy Sony Pictures
Jack Black has a special ability to elevate mid-budget comedies — a fact that I think we’d appreciate more if we got more mid-budget comedies these days. Consider the run: School of Rock. Nacho Libre. Tropic Thunder. He’s even the bright spot of 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Does A Minecraft Movie figure in here somewhere? Probably, in spite of its higher profile. I imagine Chicken Jockey or Lava Chicken wouldn’t become what they did without Black bringing his signature energy.
That energy — enthusiastically goofy, all-encompassing, self-consciously showy but lacking in vanity just like your favorite man-child uncle — is on full display in the new reboot/parody of Anaconda, amplified by the similarly absurd energy of KC’s own Paul Rudd. Their antics are perfectly suited for director and co-writer Tom Gormican, who marries goofball comedy with meta-commentary on filmmaking in a similar way to his 2022 breakout The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
This movie is dumb, effective fun. If you found yourself unexpectedly charmed by Unbearable Weight, you’ll be similarly pleased with Anaconda. Like Jumanji, it’s also prime Week Between viewing, when you need something to break up the monotony that isn’t a big, serious tentpole film (sorry, Marty Supreme).
Lifelong buddies Doug (Black) and Griff (Rudd) have dreamed of cinema stardom ever since their high school days, making backyard movies with their friends Claire (Thandiwe Newton) and Kenny (Steve Zahn). Adulthood, however, has proven disappointing. Doug makes uninspiring wedding videos for dull couples. Griff made it to Hollywood but struggles to get noticed.
When the gang reunites for Doug’s birthday, Griff convinces them to make a reboot of their childhood favorite movie, 1997’s Anaconda. With a script by Doug not nearly enough money in their pocket, the foursome head to Brazil to shoot on the Amazon, joined by their snake handler Santiago (Selton Mello of I’m Still Here) and their shifty boat captain Ana (Daniela Melchior). Things get crazy when an actual Anaconda shows up to disrupt the shoot, and even crazier when it turns out Ana has ulterior motives.
Black, surprisingly, has the straight man role here, often serving as the more reluctant, practical foil to Rudd’s starry-eyed, slightly vain dreamer. He does eventually reach the physical and vocal highs we expect, which makes the lead-up that much more fun. It also allows Rudd to lean into the absurd persona that he hasn’t gotten to exercise as much post-Marvel. Zahn, as always, is a perfect screwup, and Newton gets to flex her comedy muscles as the always-game Claire.
As with Unbearable Weight, Gormican foregrounds the power of friendship alongside the utterly silly gags (the best of these involves Black with a pig strapped to his back and a squirrel popped in his mouth). This gives Anaconda a level of genuine sweetness alongside the goofs that keep it from being totally cynical. There’s a love here for movies and making movies with your friends that adds to the overall fun.
Anaconda isn’t doing anything especially deep or wildly noteworthy, but it is a better-than-usual take on recycled IP, with a perspective that actually does something new with existing material. Between this and Naked Gun, 2025 has had a pleasantly surprising number of solid down-the-middle comedies (considering the bar for the last several years has been “zero,” even two is something worth noting). It’s really nice to have those back.
