Review: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
True or false: Talladega Nights is a prime contender for best movie of the summer.
True.
It’s a completely wonderful movie, which moves swiftly from joke to joke, following loosely the “plot” of Days of Thunder. Ferrell plays the titular Ricky Bobby, a speed junkie who finds success in the NASCAR circuit, thanks to his pit crew (headed by Michael Clarke Duncan, in his most hilarious performance since Daredevil) and his racing buddy Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly). His motto is “if you’re not first, you’re last,” and in a sense the entire movie is about how to be a loser. Job-like, Ricky loses his house and wife to his buddy, and acquires a fear of driving. Only his long-lost father Reese Bobby (Gary Cole) can help him overcome his fears and regain his place on the track.
Will Ferrell has never been a leading man in the true sense of the word. His film career has been that of character actor and supporting cast; even Anchorman was more about the ensemble than Ferrell himself, and the worst parts of that film were when it focused too heavily on a single character. Lesson learned: Talladega Nights has one of the best ensemble casts I’ve ever seen, and the timing and performance from each of them is flawless. John C. Reilly is possibly one of the funniest actors I’ve ever seen — we’ve had hints of this in films like Magnolia, but he really shines in this movie, with each of his scenes being a complete knockout. His talents for improvisation are remarkable, as seen when a doctor tells him that Ricky Bobby’s paralysis is psychosomatic: “you mean…he can start a fire…with his mind??“
The rest of the cast is similarly on cue: Sacha Baron Cohen (AKA Ali G) is on hand as Ricky’s nemesis, a gay French driver named Jean Girard that reads L’Etranger as he drives, and he plays his part with incredible intensity, never breaking for a moment from his ridiculously over-the-top performance. Gary Cole, the finest comedic supporting actor in the business, works his usual magic as Ricky’s deadbeat father. But the best of all are Ricky’s children, Walker and Texas Ranger, played with incredible talent by two unknowns. They are the highlight of the film, dispensing abuse and improbable lines at every turn.
The film doesn’t have much of a plot, to be sure — it wanders from one improvisational skit to another. In this way it isn’t as solid a film as Apatow’s 40-Year-Old Virgin, or even Anchorman. It’s just a bunch of scenes where the actors are saying crazy stuff to try and crack each other up. Does that matter? No film this year made me laugh as heartily and consistently as Talladega Nights, and that’s something I value quite highly. I’d pay to see it again, and I’d laugh just as hard.
Posted on August 2, 2006, in Movies, Reviews. Bookmark the permalink. 16 Comments.
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Wow, I wasn’t expecting this to be that great. We’ll have to catch it at the dollar theater.
I’ve been loving the trailers for this one. The bit where he stabs himself in the leg is enough to convince me that it will be worth seeing.
Wait through the credits, there is some great extra stuff. Michael Clarke Duncan — funny! Who knew?
I don’t quite know why, but in the commercials I’ve seen, when he’s imploring Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey to save him because he’s on fire … well, it cracks me up.
Thanks for the reveiw, I will definetly have to make time for this one.
I’ll have to see this. I have a weird fascination with NASCAR.
BTW, it’s spelled “Talladega.”
Right you are, Ed.
I loved Anchorman and 40-Year Old Virgin so this automatically gets my money. Glad to hear it’s good.
I can’t wait to see this movie.
A.O. Scott agrees with me.
Just got home from the theatre. Very entertaining movie…lots of good laughs…worth seeing! A fan of Will Farrell since his “Cheerleader” days on SNL.
This movie is a wonderful, hillarious mess. If you wait for the dollar theater to see it you’re cheating yourself out of $17.53 worth of laughs you could be having now.
“Don’t you put that evil on me, Supergenius!”
Sean Cassity, you’ve persuaded me to attempt a matinee next Saturday.
Amen Sean. That Michael Clarke Duncan line was genius. Supergenius, even.
I just need to register a dissenting opinion. There was some funny stuff but way too much unfunny stuff expecting to be laughed at just because it was outrageous. Overall the good didn’t outweigh the bad for me.
I will agree that John C. Reilly was brilliant.
Saw it in Afton, Wyoming this weekend. I enjoyed it. Stoopid fun.