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Dec 26, 2025 By Daniel Rester Web Exclusive

Anaconda is a meta-studio comedy that feels like it should have come out in 2010, in the wake of the success of Tropic Thunder (2008). It features one of that movie’s stars, Jack Black, and pokes fun at the filmmaking process in similar ways. Tropic Thunder has become a comedy classic, though, while Anaconda only offers a few chuckles and is more like a limp snake.

Black plays Doug McCallister, a wedding videographer who once had ambitions of becoming a film director. His childhood friend, Ronald “Griff” Griffen (Paul Rudd), has been struggling as a background actor in Hollywood. Griff decides to buy the rights to Anaconda (1997) so that he, Doug, and their friends Kenny (Steve Zahn) and Claire (Thandie Newton) can go to the Amazon to remake it.

Once in the Amazon, the group teams up with snake handler Santiago (Selton Mello) and boat captain Ana (Daniela Melchior). The filming inspires the group at first, but it turns out that Ana is hiding secrets. They also come up against a giant anaconda in the jungle that proves to be a real threat.

The script by director Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten has an oddball but likable premise. The 1997 Anaconda, with Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, offers guilty-pleasure thrills but is far from being a classic, so doing a silly riff on it is a fun idea. However, Gormican struggles to bring the same cleverness to Anaconda that he brought to The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022), a meta comedy that stars Nicolas Cage as himself.

Anaconda doesn’t subvert expectations as much as it should, given the potential found in its high concept. It has the obvious jokes, slick action scenes, expected cameos, and overplayed songs one might anticipate in a studio comedy. The stakes that arise with Ana are forced and tired as well, with well-armed characters becoming a secondary threat.

Despite the uninspired execution, Anaconda does offer some enjoyment due to having a game cast. Rudd and Black have great chemistry together and sell Doug and Griff’s lifelong friendship. Some of their jokes land, including a terrific one that brings up Jordan Peele. It’s hilarious seeing Rudd dress like Alan Grant from Jurassic Park (1993) as well.

The supporting cast members get less to do but are still welcome. Zahn gets to be a little wacky as Kenny, though he is saddled with the dumbest part of the movie (involving a throwaway pee joke). Mello stands out as Santiago, showing his range, as he is quite funny here after delivering a powerfully dramatic turn in I’m Still Here (2024).

Anaconda is a forgettable meta comedy that lacks bite. The cast brings plenty of energy to it, but the film often takes the easiest routes imaginable. I doubt anyone will remember it seventeen years later like they do Tropic Thunder.

Author rating: 5.5/10