December 26 2025, 21:43
Anaconda
Director: Tom Gormican
Release year: 2025
I was trying to find a film the whole family would enjoy at the cinema on Boxing Day, and when I saw Anaconda, certificate 12A, with Jack Black and Paul Rudd, I thought I’d hit the family jackpot—but neither child wanted to come, so the jackpot was all mine.
Failing actor Griff turns up at his oldest friend Doug’s birthday party with a VHS copy of film they made together as teenagers. Doug is depressed because he sees his dream of making a film slipping away. Reinvigorated by the memory, Griff convinces Doug, along with actress Claire and cameraman Kenny, to travel on the Amazon river to make a new version of the nineties horror film, Anaconda. However, their boat captain Ana is on the run from a group of armed men, and there is a real monster Anaconda roaming the river.
It’s a goofy comedy, and if you know and accept this going in, it’s a great ninety minutes at the movies. There are a couple of scenes that really made me laugh, and I only laugh out loud like that when I’m emotionally invested. Of course I see myself in the Jack Black character, a middle-aged man chasing an unlikely dream while stuck in a 9-to-5 job with a family to support, and perhaps I just needed to be reminded of the joys of making something with friends. The foursome are incredibly likeable, and there is extra comedy in Selton, the snake handler they hire, with an intense emotional investment in his snakes, and some late cameos. Happy Christmas.
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