On this annual day when all comedy goes into a period of grave mourning, Paramount has “announced” another “alternate cut” of Anchorman 2 sans jokes, playing off the outlandish comedic premise that a studio would continue milking a property by releasing slightly different edits of the same material. The Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues: No Joke Cut strips away all the tomfoolery that otherwise undermines the serious relationship drama at Anchorman’s core, with director Adam McKay likening it in a press release to movies such as Sophie's Choice, Ordinary People and Breaking The Waves (“[These] are the movies that inspire Will and me”), and Judd Apatow saying, “This new cut illustrates that Anchorman 2 can hold its weight against any drama.” Of course, this “new cut” is just a single scene underscored with new, melodramatic music—but look, it’s April Fools’ Day. Why bother doing more, when, for example, The Guardian is just running articles about Darth Vader vying to be the president of Ukraine? Nothing’s funny today.

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