In Anaconda, there is a moment when Jack Black’s character, Doug McCallister, starts writing, and the world around him transforms into the scenery of what he is writing. He gets in a zone that I am kind of envious of. What is only a few minutes to us is probably hours to him, but he gets all of his thoughts down and is ready to share them with the rest of the crew. As a writer, I would love to get into a zone like that, especially during awards season. 

Ok, Anaconda, is not what you think it is. It is not a remake or a retelling of the original 1997 movie starring Jennifer Lopez and Ice Cube. This is a movie where Anaconda exists, and the cast of this version were fans of the original film. Doug and Ronald Griffin Jr, AKA Griff, played by Paul Rudd, were the best of friends who would make movies together when they were growing up. Together with their friends, Kenny and Claire, played by Steve Zahn and Thandiwe Newton, they made movies and spent a lot of time together. 

As years passed, the friends had moved on to other careers and were feeling stuck in their lives. During Doug’s birthday party, the group rewatches one of their first movies, and the laughs they have together remind them of the fun they had making movies. This leads to Griff coming up with an idea about remaking the movie Anaconda. The group reminisces about how much they loved that movie and talks about the actors and action in the movie.

The movie really takes off when they begin filming their version of Anaconda. The snake wrangler, Santiago, played by Selton Mello, is fantastic in the way he talks about the snake he has trained. The snake is basically his best friend, and we see what that friendship means to him as the movie plays on. While the group is in the jungle to film their movie, there is a subplot about gold thieves. Ana, Daniela Melchior, is the one character who helps them navigate the jungle, but her motives are unknown. 

There are a lot of big laughs in the movie in the way they talk about themes in horror. Some moments are so bizarre that it is hilarious that we see these moments on the big screen. I mean, who would think of writing a scene where a warthog is tied to the back of Jack Black to entice the snake? This sounds strange, but once the scene plays out, it will have you laughing out loud.

There is a good amount of talk about the original Anaconda, so it’s almost impossible not to mention the big stars of the original. As to how many of them show up in this movie…I will let you find out for yourself, or until the internet spoils it. Anaconda is a lot of fun, and hopefully, we will see these characters again on the big screen.

Final Thoughts: Anaconda is a lot of fun comedy that will have you laughing from start to end. The combination of Paul Rudd and Jack Black is fantastic, but the scene stealers are Steve Zahn and Selton Mello. The plot is pretty straightforward, and there are great callbacks to the 1997 version of Anaconda. The film is more about following your passions and spending time with good friends. Stay for the mid-credit scene.

Violence: The movie is PG-13, and there are some pretty graphic images here and there. There is some gunplay, but the images of the snake attacking/eating are somewhat graphic.

Kid-Friendly: There is some cursing in the movie, but the curses are not flagrant in order to keep the PG-13 ready.

Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd) have been best friends since they were kids, and have always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie: the cinematic “classic” Anaconda. 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. The movie they’re dying to make? It might just get them killed……