Anaconda

February 6 – 9

Friday 3:30 & 7 pm
Saturday 7 pm
Sunday 1:30 & 7 pm

Rated PG – 1hr 39min
Action-Adventure Comedy Horror

The 2025 film Anaconda is not a reboot – it’s an entirely original comedy, inspired by the cinematic ‘classic’ Anaconda, that features Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd), who have been best friends since they were kids and always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie. When a midlife crisis pushes them to finally go for it, they head deep into the Amazon to start filming. But things get real when an actual giant anaconda appears, turning their comically chaotic movie set into a deadly situation. While it remains an example of Hollywood recycling nostalgia rather than forging new stories, Anaconda proves that, in the right filmmaker’s hands, it’s possible to strike a satisfying compromise.

Director Tom Gormican‘s not-a-reboot comedy film Anaconda really shouldn’t work, and that’s exactly why it does. It’s the kind of movie that sounds like it could be painfully stupid on paper, but instead turns out to be genuinely funny, self-aware, and far more charming than it has any right to be. It’s goofy, chaotic fun powered almost entirely by the perfect comedic timing and chemistry of its cast. A lot of the humor comes from timing rather than punchlines, with awkward pauses, escalating stupidity, and the slow realization that things are much worse than anyone wants to admit. The film is at its best when it’s poking fun at creative delusion, male midlife panic, and the absurdity of chasing childhood dreams without any adult planning. It’s silly, yes, but never cynical.

From beginning to end, Anaconda is an entertaining hang thanks in large part to the strength of its cast. Black and Rudd make a first-class comedic pairing, both working slightly against type. Rudd’s Ronald is the foolish dreamer, while Black’s Doug provides the team’s voice of reason. They perfectly complement each other’s outlandish energy while imbuing their characters with just enough heart and soul to keep them from becoming wacky cartoonish caricatures. However, Zahn’s turn as “Buffalo sober” cameraman Kenny steals scene after scene. Newton, also delivers a worthwhile performance as the remake’s leading lady, Claire, though she doesn’t receive enough space to maximize her comedic chops.

The film operates in the same self-aware lane as Gormican and co-writer Kevin Etten’s previous film, 2022’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, starring Nicolas Cage as Nicolas Cage, commenting on his own movies. It’s an inspired idea, even though a lot of the industry inside jokes may go over most moviegoers’ heads. The playfulness of this self-referential structure gives the movie a zany energy.  And if you are looking for some crazy snake action, Anaconda delivers. The quaint, low-tech effects of the 1997 original have been updated significantly here. You may even see a twinkle in the anaconda’s eye. At least he was having a good time the whole way through.

Ultimately, Anaconda represents an ideal blueprint for Hollywood’s love affair with legacy sequels. Rather than mindlessly regurgitating 28-year-old mythology, Gormican playfully reinvents the rules for what this series can be, reshaping it into a heartfelt, delightfully unhinged action comedy that dares to be poignant.