Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Back in the '80s, Chevy Chase specialized in clueless all-American goofs who thought they were smarter than they were. The crown has now been passed to Ferrell. Here, he plays Ron Burgundy, the top-rated anchorman in '70s-era San Diego. Ron is the booze swilling, cigarette smoking, female ogling, narcissistic leader of an all-male news team whose world is rocked by the arrival of a new female reporter--beautiful, talented, and ambitious Veronica Corningstone (Applegate). Ron falls for the babe even as he tries to retain his chauvinistic place at the top of the news chain. It's amusing shtick and a fair send-up of a time when men were pigs and women decided to bring home the bacon themselves. Besides Applegate, Ferrell is well supported by Koechner, Carell, and Rudd as his equally macho-wannabe news boys.