You know, to write something wholly original is great, but it may be even harder to steal from others and make it totally your own. That’s the thought I had with the thoroughly funny and entertaining Anaconda, a meta-reboot of the cult ’90s favorite that starred Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and a comatose Eric Stoltz as they tried to escape a non-venomous constrictor snake.
Of course, when we cannot come up with any original material, someone puts the word “meta” in front of a genre to sell a script and avoid plagiarism charges. Either way, this Anaconda works by being absurdly funny, creating something fresh and new by reinventing a flawed film that has somehow stuck in our minds for decades, probably because of streaming.
What is Anaconda about?
Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, and Paul Rudd in Anaconda (2025) | Image via Sony Pictures
Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda (2025) | Image via Sony Pictures
Jack Black in Anaconda (2025) | Image via Sony Pictures
Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, and Paul Rudd in Anaconda (2025) | Image via Sony Pictures
Jack Black in Anaconda (2025) | Image via Sony Pictures
Jack Black, Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, and Paul Rudd in Anaconda (2025) | Image via Sony Pictures
Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, and Paul Rudd in Anaconda (2025) | Image via Sony Pictures
Hey, since the days of Siskel & Ebert, critics have been begging studios to remake bad movies instead of classics. Finally, the studios have listened to us. In a retread, lazy kind of way, when it comes to work ethic, a workaround to authentic creativity and originality, if you will, but it will still have you laughing until your sides hurt, all the same.
The story follows four childhood friends who have the stunningly bad idea of traveling to the Amazon to remake the 1997 cult (I refuse to add the term “classic” after) film Anaconda. (Hey, if Steven Soderbergh can shoot an entire movie on his cell phone, why can’t these guys?) The leader of the group is Griff (Paul Rudd), a background artist who never found success as an actor.
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Of course, the boyish and handsome Griff has a best bud who is a dumpster fire: Doug (Jack Black), a wedding videographer who fancies himself a filmmaker, just like Tommy Wiseau fancies himself an artist. Griff travels to celebrate Doug’s birthday with a gift that no one expected.
He has secured the rights to the Luis Llosa film Anaconda, yes, you read that right. No word on plans for meta-sequels with these characters when they secure the rights to Sniper and The Specialist, but one can hope.
Anaconda Review
Paul Rudd and Jack Black in Anaconda (2025) | Image via Sony Pictures
What does that mean? A trip for a bare-bones filming of a remake of their favorite childhood film. Along for the ride are Kenny (Steve Zahn of The White Lotus), who just lost his job when Doug handed him his pink slip, and Claire (Golden Globe nominee Thandiwe Newton), who is coming off a divorce, who form their nuclear childhood clique and want to help them with their little endeavor, like making a movie fantasy camp, if you will.
Anaconda is from Tom Gormican, best known for the meta-Nicolas Cage movie experience, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Gormican co-wrote the film with Kevin Etten (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F), a massive improvement over their last Eddie Murphy endeavor. If that Cage flick runs on comedic egotism, Anaconda’s fuel is self-immolation, running on weaponized incompetence and panic-driven slapstick.
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This is essentially a buddy action comedy that wants to celebrate the exaggerated legend of ’90s monster flicks, but it makes that legend the butt of the joke. The first act is a nice setup, piling on jokes and suspense as we wait for things to go awry. Black is the funniest character, turning his arrogance into the biggest laughs.
To me, there is nothing more amusing than an overconfident gasbag finding themselves in absurd situations, showcasing weaponized bravado. Selton Mello, who plays a snake handler, serves as the straight man, the rock the group leans on, also earning a few amusing moments.
Is Anaconda worth watching?
Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Jack Black, and Paul Rudd in Anaconda (2025) | Image via Sony Pictures
Of course, this being a big, broad ’90s comedy throwback, the female characters, most notably Newton and Ione Skye (Say Anything), play flimsy, cardboard-thin characters who have nothing to do but establish themselves as supportive women and reinforce the cinematic cliché. Yes, the dialogue doesn’t have that many comedic quips.
However, the movie is a throwback, prioritizing physical comedy over wit, specializing in comedic personas multiplied by volume, rhythm, and repetition. Sure, you can dismiss Anaconda. Probably, those critics are still on their high horse after watching films about grief, love, and loss (Hamnet) or using art as a therapeutic means of closure (Sentimental Value).
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But how about a broad, star-driven, rated R comedy that brings the shameless silliness and the kind of buttery popcorn entertainment that prioritizes belly laughs over prestige? That’s Anaconda in a nutshell. See it, because this is the kind of comedy studios rarely make anymore.
You can watch the new film Anaconda only in theaters starting December 25th!
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