After honing their comedic craft on Saturday Night Live, Adam McKay and Will Ferrell brought their particular brand of absurdist humor to the big screen with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Thanks to a brilliantly written script punched up by improv-adept actors, as well as Ferrell’s hysterical on-screen chemistry with Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner, Anchorman is one of the funniest movies ever made.
The film has no shortage of hilarious set pieces, as McKay shot so much footage that there was enough for two movies, and then left in only the very best stuff. So, here are the 10 funniest scenes in Anchorman.
Ron’s Vocal Warm-Ups
Throughout the opening titles of Anchorman, Ron Burgundy prepares for a broadcast by doing some vocal warm-ups: “Unique New York. Unique New York.”
From “The Human Torch was denied a bank loan” to “The arsonist has oddly shaped feet,” these warm-ups include some of the most ridiculous phrases ever conceived.
“Cannonball!”
One of Anchorman’s earliest scenes opens with a closeup of Ron’s face as he says, “Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention? I’ve just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story, and I need all of you to stop what you’re doing and listen.”
Cut to a wider shot of Ron standing on the diving board of his pool as he shouts, “Cannonball!,” before jumping in the water. It was a hilarious way to unexpectedly transition from the newsroom to a pool party.
A Biker Kicks Baxter Off A Bridge
One day, on his way to work, Ron tosses a burrito out the car window and hits a biker, played hilariously by Jack Black. The biker spills off of his bike and is furious at Ron.
So, he decides that, after Ron took away the thing he loved the most, he’ll take away the thing that Ron loves the most. He grabs Baxter from the car and kicks him off the side of the bridge.
Ron Plays The Jazz Flute
When Ron takes Veronica out on a date, they go to a jazz bar that he frequents and he’s asked to perform on stage by the bar's owner. His instrument? A jazz flute. He acts as though he’s woefully unprepared, but then he pulls his flute out of his sleeve and quickly slips into his musical persona. It's both hilarious and rather impressive.
“Where’d You Get Your Clothes, The Toilet Store?”
When Ron and his news team go out for a stroll, they bump into their old rivals, Wes Mantooth and his cronies from Channel 9. They get into an argument about ratings, where Mantooth argues that the ratings figures don’t take all the data into account.
As the two teams trade barbs, Brick comes out with one of the greatest insults of all time: “Where’d you get your clothes, the toilet store?”
Afternoon Delight
After Ron falls for Veronica, he tries to describe what it feels like to be in love to his friends. He can’t articulate it with words, so he starts singing Starland Vocal Band’s “Afternoon Delight” and they all join in.
As they discuss love and Brick struggles to comprehend the concept, he starts naming items around the room that he’s in love with: “I love lamp.”
“Go F*** Yourself, San Diego.”
When Veronica becomes Ron’s co-anchor, he wants to sabotage her. So, she decides to sabotage him right back. Upon finding out that Ron will read whatever it says on the teleprompter, Veronica figures out how to steal the news show out from under Ron’s nose.
She tampers with the teleprompter and, at the end of a broadcast, Ron obliviously says, “Go f**k yourself, San Diego,” turning the city he loves against him.
“I’m In A Glass Case Of Emotion!”
Will Ferrell’s strength is in overacting in the best way possible. Where a lot of comedic overactors can come off as unbearably annoying, Ferrell nails scenes that give him a chance to go way over the top.
After a biker kicks his dog Baxter off of a bridge, Ron calls Brian from a payphone in tears. He can’t articulate the anguish he’s going through, and when Brian asks where he is, he cries out, “I’m in a glass case of emotion!”
The News Team Fight
The second time Ron and his team are confronted by Wes Mantooth and his own team, they’re joined by several other news teams – headed by such cameoing stars as Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins, and Luke Wilson – for an intense battle.
Featuring such insane weapons as a trident, a bedpost, and a hand grenade, the news team brawl in Anchorman is a hysterical set piece.
“Boy, That Escalated Quickly!”
Comedy was changed when Ron Burgundy said, “Boy, that escalated quickly!” Suddenly, comedy became more self-referential. Instead of just depicting a brutal battle between various news teams and moving on, Anchorman cuts to Ron, Champ, Brian, and Brick commenting on the absurdity of the situation they just found themselves in.
The fact that Brick killed a man with a trident would be swept under the rug in any other absurdist comedy, but in Anchorman, it’s discussed at length, as Ron recommends staying at a safe house for a while.