#25: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
In 2025, we mourn the loss of the studio comedy: that well-funded, celebrity-laden, eminently quotable 90 minutes filled with jokes, gags, situations that strain credulity, and—at times—even irreverence. But the truth is we are only a few years removed from these sorts of films not only routinely grossing upwards of $100 million at the box office, but also sinking so deeply into cultural nomenclature that they have become synonymous with adolescence, friendship, and community. Just look back through the lineup of some of the comedy films released between the years 2000-2010 and their box office takes:
What Women Want - $374 million
Meet The Parents and Meet The Fockers - $166 million and $525 million
Elf - $230 million
My Big Fat Greek Wedding - $368 million
Men In Black II - $441 million
Bruce Almighty - $484 million
Austin Powers in Goldmember - $213 million
Wedding Crashers - $283 million
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - $163 million
Night at the Museum - $579 million
Borat - $148 million
Superbad - $170 million
The Simpsons Movie - $536 million
Knocked Up - $148 million
Get Smart - $228 million
Tropic Thunder - $110 million
Step Brothers - $100 million
The Hangover - $467 million
Grown Ups - $162 million
The Other Guys - $170 million
Without litigating the sensitivity (or lack thereof) of many of these releases, one thing is clear: we were people who longed to laugh in the 2000s, and we were willing to pay top dollar to experience hilarity in community with our friends and neighbors. Fueled by the SNL to film pipeline churning out comedy figures like Will Ferrell and Tina Fey, the proliferation of DVD rewatchability, and the style and teamwork of writer-directors like Judd Apatow and Adam McKay, many of these films became so ubiquitous that their quotes would regularly get applied, even sometimes without awareness of their origins, in everyday conversations.
It seemed prudent to me to include a comedy of this vein to start off the list, both as a marker of the time but also as an invitation to revisit the film, and my choice from this era—a movie I believe stands out above the rest of its peers—is Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
It provided us Will Ferrell at his most signaturely buffoonish, brash, and exaggerated; it gave us an ensemble that included early film breakthroughs for Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, Vince Vaughn, and David Michael Koechner; it managed to serve as social critique of misogyny, patriarchy, consumerism, and the general ineptitude of those in power, all without ever becoming preachy; and—perhaps best of all—it remains one of the most quotable comedies of recent American cinematic history (with links for your viewing pleasure):
“I believe diversity is an old, old wooden ship.”
“They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time, it works every time.”
“Boy, that escalated quickly…I mean, that really got out of hand fast.”
“I’m in a glass case of emotion!”
Eminently rewatchable, a DVD classic, and a peak of the McKay-Ferrell partnership, Anchorman is a hilarious way to start our journey towards the best 25 films of the 21st century (it’s currently streaming on Tubi for free!).