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Talladega
Nights:
The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Will
Ferrell stars as Ricky Bobby – a man who wants to go
fast. The slightly
dim guy who loves to
race catches his big break and becomes the best driver on the NASCAR
circuit,
which leads to fame and fortune. Along
with his best friend for life, Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Reilly), the
two are unbeatable
as Ricky Bobby wins every race, and Cal
helps him, but always comes in second.
Just as everything seems to be going well for Ricky
Bobby, his whole
world comes crumbling down after a new nemesis emerges, unbeatable
French
Formula One driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen a/k/a Ali G). Then, he has an accident
that shakes his
confidence and leaves him psychologically broken.
Will Ricky Bobby be able to
bounce back and become a
champion again?
Talladega Nights:The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a funny movie, but
doesn’t quite live up
to its potential. Co-writer/director
Adam McKay and Ferrell (who gets a writing credit for the movie) seem
to have 3
hilarious ideas for the plot, but don’t quite flesh out each
one. We have the
battle between Jean Girard and
Ricky Bobby, which could have been handled as a spoof of the Rocky
movies or
any other film where the underdog has to work hard to defeat his
insurmountable
foe (complete with a silly montage).
Then,
we see Ricky Bobby’s relationship with his absentee father,
Reese Bobby (Gary
Cole), which has some of the funniest scenes and gives Cole the kind of
lines
that have you rolling in the aisles.
Finally, we see the Cain and Abel relationship
between Ricky Bobby and
Cal, who might like to get out from under Ricky Bobby’s
shadow one day to win a
race, which needed the most background and development to pay off. Each one has
funny moments, especially the
hilarious scenes of Reese Bobby training Ricky Bobby for his big
comeback, but
I think there’s more to all of it, and one of these plots
needed to emerge as
the main story with more jokes, more scenes and more laughs.
Also, how about some more NASCAR jokes? I know the studio,
Columbia, and Ferrell
might be afraid of alienating the people most likely to go see Talladega Nights:The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (NASCAR
fans), but, if done with love, a lampooning of the sport,
especially
parts fans know can be the fodder for hilarity, would be just perfect. They touch on some of it,
like the in-your-face
sponsorships, but some jokes about interactions between the racers,
more jokes
about the pit crews and some commentary about
“rubbin’ is racin’” would
make Talladega Nights:The Ballad of Ricky Bobby complete.
Ferrell does his best to create a funny,
wild character in
Ricky Bobby, but he needs more dialogue and less whooping and hollering. He finds moments to
entertain us, but it’s as
if he passed all of the best material to his co-stars, and it shows as
they deliver the best lines in the movie.
Houston
Tumlin and Grayson Russell, who play Ricky Bobby’s sons
Walker and Texas
Ranger, are fantastic as the most foulmouthed, smart alecky brats you
will ever
meet, while Cole is perfect as the alcoholic father who brings a
zen-like approach
to training his son.
Talladega Nights:The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is
funny, and
well worth going to see, but it
could have been so much more with a little more work and
imagination. Also,
the movie gets an addition ½ Waffle for
a fantastic Elvis Costello cameo.
2 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4)
Copyright
2006 - WaffleMovies.com
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