Staying classy takes a lot of time.

"Anchorman" hero Ron Burgundy is probably Will Ferrell's most recognizable character, and fans of the original film waited almost 10 years for a follow-up adventure.

That sequel, "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," clocks in at a rather un-classy 119 minutes - roughly 29 minutes longer than ANY comedy sequel should be.

The theatrical cut is overstuffed and exhausting, especially when the film stumbles through a celebrity-laden climax that merely reheats a solid gag from the original film. Before that moment, the movie at least tries to be something different - and even takes several clever jabs at the insanity of 24-hour news networks.

For Ferrell and director Adam McKay, more is obviously better, and they've taken that theory to a new extreme with this week's Blu-ray release of the film. In addition to the theatrical cut, the Blu-ray includes a slightly longer unrated version, more than an hour of alternate lines and bloopers, and a complete R-rated, "super-sized" cut of the film that's 30 minutes longer and (allegedly) contains 763 new jokes.

Too much Ron Burgundy, right? Yes and no.

The new R-rated cut isn't a cheap marketing ploy. While the plot stays the same, the dialogue is considerably different, though not excessively dirtier than the original cut. The loose (and largely irrelevant) nature of the plot allows for considerable improvisation, allowing alternate jokes to slide easily into scenes.

There's extra stuff too, like a bizarre musical number that takes place when Ron and his news team first arrive at their New York City offices.

As a movie, the R-rated cut isn't any better than the original. It's an hour too long instead of a half hour too long. Still, as a consumer, it's easy to appreciate the value. There's a lot of funny content here, and you get to see the talented cast run wild with their characters. You can't possibly ask for more Ron Burgundy and friends.

It leaves me in an awkward position. On one hand, I can't recommend "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" on a basic storytelling level. It's just not very good.

On the other hand, you get a whole lot of hilarious content on this Blu-ray, just so long as you pace yourself and treat the material like unconnected skits. It's better than what you'll get this year on "Saturday Night Live," anyway.

"House, M.D." checks into Netflix Instant

Now you can learn about more than 100 deadly diseases that can viciously kill you. Hugh Laurie is always entertaining as mean ol' Dr. House as he solves medical mysteries for 176 episodes across eight seasons. The show has a few lousy seasons, but Laurie and the cast are always good at scaring the life out of illness-fearing audiences.

Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.