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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 24.79%
Worth A Look: 38.02%
Average: 22.31%
Pretty Bad: 3.31%
Total Crap: 11.57%
9 reviews, 67 user ratings
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| Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby |
by Lybarger
"Not the smoothest ride, but it gets you there."
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In terms of construction, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” is similar to the last movie director Adam McKay and actor Will Ferrell made together, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” It’s the cinematic equivalent of a muscle car reconstructed exclusively from salvage parts that not only runs but wins street races.“Talladega Nights” has a weak storyline, logic gaps, excessive product placement and a “good taste be damned” attitude. Curiously, it’s quite funny.
The title character (Ferrell) is a fellow who was born to burn fossil fuels. In fact, his mother (Jane Lynch) actually delivers him in a speeding car.
Ricky’s obsession with peeling out means just about everyone but his pal Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Reilly) thinks he’s a basket case.
That perception changes when he reaches adulthood and abruptly moves from a pit crew job into driving. From the moment he steps behind the steering wheel, Ricky quickly becomes a natural at winning races and gains the heart of a gorgeous fan (Leslie Bibb).
His time in the winner’s circle is cut shot when a mean-spirited driver from France named Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen of “Da Ali G Show”) intimidates him both on and off the track and Cal begins to resent having to finish second to his pal.
The script by Ferrell and McKay has some inspired moments. Ricky’s bratty kids, Walker (Houston Tumlin) and Texas Ranger (Grayson Russell), spout unbelievably vile utterances that have to be heard to be believed.
Nonetheless, the screenwriters don’t seem to have spent much time thinking the storyline through. At one point, Ricky breaks his arm (I won’t tell you how), but during a race shortly after, it’s miraculously healed. Or Ferrell and McKay didn’t think it was funny anymore.
To McKay’s credit, he knows how to coax better performances from Ferrell than most of his peers do. Ferrell’s height and irregular features make him a poor choice for the everyman roles he was saddled with in “Kicking and Screaming” and “Bewitched.” He’s at his best when he plays a sweet innocent or a complete buffoon. Here he gets to be both.
Even though “Talladega Nights” is clearly intended as his vehicle, Ferrell as a performer and screenwriter is more than happy to share the spotlight. Cohen is a scream as the Gallic antagonist, and can generate chuckles by simply opening his mouth.
Some might accuse his flamingly gay character as being homophobic. But McKay has learned an important lesson from Mel Brooks. If you’re going to make fun of one group of people, be sure to spread the satire around. Rural southerners are mocked even more frequently than gays are in this one.
The real star in “Talladega Nights” is probably Gary Cole as Ricky’s lowlife father Reese. As he’s demonstrated since “Office Space,” Cole can play obnoxious characters and make them mesmerizing. You pray that you never have to meet his characters in real life, but they’re fascinating to watch from the safety of a movie screen.
The alcoholic Reese disappears from Ricky’s life for decades at a time and is constantly spouting life lessons at his son even though he really has nothing to teach his offspring. Just when you think Reese might have some hidden nobility, his inner heel surfaces like an underground nuclear test.
Amy Adams, fresh from her Oscar-nominated turn in “Junebug” has a couple of delightful moments, but it would have been more fun if Ricky had spent more time with her character Susan (Ricky’s manager) than with Carley. Adams has too much to offer for the meager screen time she receives here.The outtakes that run though the credits indicate why the film succeeds even when it shouldn’t. Much of the dialogue during these cut scenes was apparently improvised. Apparently, McKay is willing to let his cast cut loose and knows what belongs on the screen and on the cutting room floor.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=14906&reviewer=382
originally posted: 08/04/06 15:33:01
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USA
04-Aug-2006 (PG-13)
DVD: 12-Dec-2006
UK
15-Sep-2006
Australia
21-Sep-2006
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