Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Anchorman is the most quotable comedy of the 21st century — a film that generated so many catchphrases, memes, and cultural references that it is impossible to have a conversation about comedy without invoking Ron Burgundy at least once. Will Ferrell plays the mustachioed, scotch-drinking, jazz-flute-playing anchor of a 1970s San Diego news team whose world is shattered when a talented female journalist joins the broadcast.

The cast is extraordinary. Steve Carell's Brick Tamland ('I love lamp') is a masterclass in committed stupidity. Paul Rudd's Brian Fantana and his 'Sex Panther' cologne. David Koechner's Champ Kind and his inexplicable aggression. The four of them together form the most dysfunctional, most hilarious news team in comedy history. The news team street fight — featuring cameos from Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, and Tim Robbins — is the most ambitious comedy set piece of the decade.

Adam McKay's direction is barely contained chaos. The film was largely improvised, with Ferrell and the cast riffing extensively on every scene. So much material was generated that an entire alternate film — Wake Up, Ron Burgundy — was assembled from unused takes. Anchorman's satire of 1970s sexism is sharper than it initially appears: Burgundy's oblivious misogyny is played for laughs, but Applegate's Veronica Corningstone always wins. The film argues that talent and competence will outlast ego and entitlement, and it does so while being relentlessly, outrageously funny.