'Anchorman' turns 20: The 10 best Will Ferrell movies, ranked

Stay classy, Will Ferrell.

Since his breakthrough on "Saturday Night Live," the comedian has starred in a slew of beloved comedies ("Old School," "Step Brothers," "Elf") and cameoed in a bunch more, from "Zoolander" to the last summer's Oscar-nominated runaway hit "Barbie." But this week marks the 20th anniversary of one of his finest, "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (originally released July 9, 2004), which cast Ferrell as the lovably dim, hilariously vain title San Diego newsman and launched a tidal wave of memorable lines ("I'm in a glass case of emotion!").

In honor of "Anchorman," we're ranking Ferrell's 10 best movies:

10. 'The Other Guys' (2010)

In the buddy-cop spoof directed by frequent collaborator Adam McKay, Ferrell stars as a nerdy forensic accountant for the New York City Police Department who'd rather stay behind a desk than be out in the streets. But when the department's top cops (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson) meet a premature doom, he gets a chance to be a real detective alongside a loose cannon (Mark Wahlberg).

Where to watch: Prime Video, Max

9. 'Stranger Than Fiction' (2006)

Ferrell shines in a more reserved and dramatic role than usual in this meta fantasy comedy. Emma Thompson plays an author working on a novel and struggling to figure out how to kill her main character, an IRS agent (Ferrell) who in his own existence is freaked out when he starts hearing her narration to his everyday life. It's a life-affirming movie that acts a nice palette cleanser among Ferrell's more outrageous outings.

Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon

8. 'Strays' (2023)

Ferrell voices a Border Terrier named Reggie, a kind little soul stuck with a terrible owner (Will Forte). Abandoned in the big city, Reggie becomes part of a tight-knit canine crew with a foul-mouthed Boston Terrier (Jamie Foxx), anxious Great Dane (Randall Park) and clever Australian Shepherd (Isla Fisher) and sets on a mission of furry vengeance. Ferrell brings a wide-eyed spirit nicely matching his adorable counterpart in the uproarious comedy.

Where to watch: Prime Video

7. 'The Lego Movie' (2014)

Everything is awesome about this brick-filled animated adventure, and Ferrell embraces being awesomely bad. Although there aren't a lot of villains on his resume, Ferrell puts a sinister spin on his usual affable self as Lord Business, an evil guy who wants to wipe out the Master Builders – like Chris Pratt's heroic Emmet – and crush the Lego world. (Ferrell also has a secret second role that plays out in meta fashion for the movie's finale.)

Where to watch: Netflix

6. 'Barbie' (2023)

In director Greta Gerwig's popular meta comedy, Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) go to the Real World to fix some craziness happening in Barbie Land and Barbie heads to Mattel headquarters. It's there she meets the CEO, who Farrell imbues with a manic spirit as he first tries to put Barbie back in the box but ends up having all the dolls' best interests – and his company's – in mind.

Where to watch: Max

5. 'Old School' (2003)

"We're going streaking!" Ferrell wowed with his big-screen breakout in this college comedy as Frank, a newly married 30-something dude who starts a fraternity with his best buddies (Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn). His days of wedded bliss and going to Home Depot get tossed aside when he reverts to his old "Frank the Tank" persona, hitting the beer bong and running across the quad naked. (He is quite the master debater, however.)

Where to watch: Paramount+, Pluto TV

4. 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby' (2006)

For Ferrell's speed-loving hotshot NASCAR driver, winning is everything, but he gets taken down quite a few necessary pegs and rises again to the occasion in Adam McKay's sports comedy. The best is seeing the titular Southern-fried screwball with arrested development issues playing off other colorful characters, like figuring out the relationship with his best frenemy (John C. Reilly) and tussling with his gay French rival (Sacha Baron Cohen).

Where to watch: Hulu

3. 'Step Brothers' (2008)

As dynamic a duo as they are in "Talladega Nights," Farrell and John C. Reilly were even better here as two middle-aged guys still living at home when their parents marry. Initially wary of each other, the alpha dorks become best friends who leave all manner of hysterical chaos in their wake. It's impossible to pick a fave stepbro among the two, but shoutout to Farrell singing his heart out (with Reilly on drums) at the Catalina Wine Mixer.

Where to watch: Hulu

2. 'Elf' (2003)

As one can tell by this list, Ferrell excels at playing man-children, and Buddy is the sweetest of the lot. Raised by Santa's helpers at the North Pole, Farrell's bighearted uber-elf heads to New York City to connect with the father (James Caan) he never knew. Buddy finds love, gobbles spaghetti with maple syrup and reminds his grumpy dad – as well as the rest of us – about what the Christmas spirit really means in a holiday classic.

Where to watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon

1. 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' (2004)

Rocking an epic 'stache, a flaming flute and chauvinistic machismo to spare, Ferrell was sensational as a 1970s faux San Diego newsman in Adam McKay's winning satire with all-time one-liners and a top-notch cast. Ron is a lean, mean teleprompter-reading machine until he and his squad (Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Steve Carell) have their collective male worlds rocked when Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) arrives as a talented anchorwoman. Stay classy, Will Ferrell, and thanks for giving us this hairy and hilarious pop-culture touchstone.

Where to watch: Paramount+, Pluto TV

Every Will Ferrell movie:

“The Death Artist” (1995)

“Men Seeking Women” (1997)

“Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” (1997)

“A Night at the Roxbury” (1998)

“The Thin Pink Line” (1998)

“The Suburbans” (1999)

“Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” (1999)

“Dick” (1999)

“Superstar” (1999)

“Drowning Mona” (2000)

“The Ladies Man” (2000)

“Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001)

“Zoolander” (2001)

“Boat Trip” (2002)

“Old School” (2003)

“Elf” (2003)

“Starsky & Hutch” (2004)

“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004)

“Melinda and Melinda” (2004)

“The Wendell Baker Story” (2005)

“Kicking and Screaming” (2005)

“Bewitched” (2005)

“Wedding Crashers” (2005)

“Winter Passing” (2005)

“The Producers” (2005)

“Curious George” (2006)

“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006)

“Blades of Glory” (2006)

“Stranger Than Fiction” (2006)

“Semi-Pro” (2008)

“Step Brothers” (2008)

“Land of the Lost” (2009)

“The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” (2009)

“The Other Guys” (2010)

“Everything Must Go” (2010)

“Megamind” (2010)

“Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” (2012)

“Casa de mi Padre” (2012)

“The Campaign” (2012)

“The Internship” (2013)

“Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” (2013)

“The Lego Movie” (2014)

“Get Hard” (2015)

“Daddy’s Home” (2015)

“Zoolander 2” (2016)

“The House” (2017)

“Daddy’s Home 2” (2017)

“Holmes & Watson” (2018)

“The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” (2019)

“Drunk Parents” (2019)

“Zeroville” (2019)

“Between Two Ferns: The Movie” (2019)

“Downhill” (2020)

“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” (2020)

“Spirited” (2022)

“Barbie” (2023)

“Strays” (2023)

"Quiz Lady" (2023)

"Despicable Me 4" (2024)

Contributing: Kristen Apolline Castillo

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Anchorman' at 20: The 10 best Will Ferrell movies ranked