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Smart Hollywood: My Top Ten Fave Films of the 00’s

the aughts

by Jonathan Fuhrman | 12:50 pm, December 4th, 2009

» 4 comments

5. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

“Stay Classy San Diego”. With those four words, Will Ferrell cemented a classic character for the ages. Honestly, you just can’t fight it, Ron Burgundy, that lovable womanizer/imbecile lead anchor for Channel 4 news in San Diego, will live on and on. In fact, thanks to countless re-runs on cable, “Anchorman” has already established itself as one of the most re-watchable films of the 00’s. The film cemented Will Ferrell’s jump from “Saturday Night Live” to feature film stardom, all the while paving the way for other Ferrell comedy classics in recent years like “Talladega Nights” and “Step Brothers” (yes I realize I’m using a very liberal definition of classic here). Even if audiences have started to tire a little bit from Ferrell’s shtick as this decade ends (e.g. check out the poor box office results for “Land of the Lost” – I still haven’t seen it, but I will have to give it a courtesy view when it hits cable because I respect Ferrell that much), there is no denying the birth of the film comedic genius in “Anchorman”. This movie has my designated ‘so silly its smart’ comedy slot for the decade (runner up, Ben Stiller’s genius parody of the model/fashion world, “Zoolander”), and its comedic forerunners are “Airplane”, “Fletch” and “Caddyshack”. “Anchorman” will have the same kind of staying power as those masterpieces (that’s right, don’t question me, I said masterpieces). Maybe its because “Anchorman” is set in a ridiculous parody of the free-wheeling 70’s (ok I’m hoping its mostly parody, because if not the 70s were way scarier than I can remember), but its unlikely this film will soon feel dated. And it will be quoted by college freshmen (and their counterparts of any age who still wish they were in college) for years to come. Here are some memorable and very classy lines from the great Ron Burgundy for the road: “You are a smelly pirate hooker.” “Why don’t you go back to your home on Whore Island?” “I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly…” Need I say more?

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kevinsemicolon

That’s a pretty interesting list. Of the movies I’ve seen, I would only disagree with a few of them (one in particular—I can guarantee I will not be rewatching any Russell Crowe movie in the next 20 years). Here’s my list, with the added restraint of only one movie per year:

Wonder Boys (2000)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
24 Hour Party People (2002)
The Saddest Music in the World (2003)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
Volver (2006)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Coraline (2009)

For Volver, you can substitute Pan’s Labyrinth if you prefer. 2006 was the year Madrid picked up the slack for Hollywood. That was a fun exercise. Thanks!
Rachel Sklar

What a great list. I admit that I can watch “Legally Blonde” anytime…or “Bring It On”…or “Mean Girls”…I think I just stumbled upon another idea for a list…

(I also like smart-people movies too, sheesh. Oh and I think I’d put Inglorious Basterds on any list. I still find myself thinking about it, and arrested by it.)
Jonathan Fuhrman

I agree re: “Basterds” but left it off the list for 2 reasons: 1) personal bias given I worked on it and trying to remain somewhat impartial; 2) and more importantly, it’s probably a case of timing hurting its chances to make the top 10 – its just too soon – need a little bit of time and distance to really determine its place on this list. That being said Quentin’s other masterpiece of the 00′s, “Kill Bill” (especially Volume 1) was definitely a near miss to this list. I can watch that scene where The Bride takes on the Crazy 88 over and over. What a movie.
lkruse

Excellent choices! I agree with all those films. I think if I had to try and do both: pick movies just from the 00′s that I’ll enjoy yrs from now (enjoy being the key word in this category as some of the best movies can be difficult to watch over and over again), as well as movies that stand up to critical acclaim I would have to add:

Both Joe Wright’ films “Atonement” and “Pride and Prejudice”
Steven Soderbergh’s “Erin Brokovich”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“Tropic Thunder”

Smart Hollywood: My Top Ten Fave Films of the 00’s

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