Ricky Bobby delivers big laughs

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2006)

When a movie has the pedigree of director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Forty-Year-Old-Virgin), and actors Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Old School), John C. Reilly (Chicago), Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G) and Michael Clarke Duncan (Daredevil, The Green Mile), expectations will be high. Fortunately, "Talladega Nights: the ballad of Ricky Bobby", lives up the the pedigree, offering plenty of laughs. Ferrell plays the titular character, a big-hearted (and big-headed) NASCAR driver who lives life by his daddy's words; "If you're not first, you're last.". After starting life in the pit crew - led by Lucius Washington (Duncan)- Bobby's philosophy helped him become the greatest NASCAR driver in the south, much to the joy of his controlling trophy wife Carley (Leslie Bibb) and his two foul-mouthed kids. Bobby also isn't afraid to bow to the whim of commercialism - putting sponsorship on his Winfield, and fulfilling a contractual obligation to mention Powerade when saying grace).
Aiding his cause is his best buddy Cal Naughton Jr (O' Reilly), who selflessly lets Bobby win, then celebrates with their trademark cry "shake n' bake". But their peaceful redneck existence (which includes fancy meals of Dominoes pizza, KFC and Taco Bell) is interrupted by the arrival of Jean Girrard (Cohen, with a ridiculous accent), a gay, French Formula One driver, who declares his intentions to usurp Bobby. After a horrible crash, Bobby goes into a mental breakdown, believing he's paraylsed (culminating in a hilarious scene involving a knife and Ferrel's leg, which rivals the "hot wax" scene from "Forty-Year-Old-Virgin" as the most cringe-inducingly hilarious moment). Following a failed comeback in a time trail, Bobby's life hits the skids. Carley leaves him for Cal, he's fired by his crew, is forced to move in with his mother, and takes an inglorious pizza delivery job. It's while working that he rediscovers his dad, Reese (Gary Cole) who abandoned Bobby when he was ten. Sympathising with his son's plight, Reese offers to bring Bobby back to his former glory. Some of his unorthodox methods include forcing Bobby to drive with a hungry cougar, dousing him with buckets of water, and strapping a bag of drugs to his car and calling the cops. Eventually, Bobby gets his confidence back, finds a new admirer, and faces off with Jacques for the Talladega 500.
While the plot of Talladega may be "paint-by-numbers", that doesn't matter, as the whole point of the movie, and others of its ilk, is how many laughs it gets. Plenty abound, including the aforementioned knife scene, which also involves Lucius and Cal trying to dig it out. Not to mention the moments when a post-crash Bobby runs around in his underwear, convinced he's on fire - which happens again following the failed time trial - to his pit crew's confusion. The film relies a lot on Ferrell's goofy personality (the same seen in Old School and Anchorman), letting the other characters play around him. McKay also pokes fun at the redneck community, including their homophobic, xenophobic outlook, and love for fast food.
In summary, "Talladega Nights" runs on the same vein as "Old School", "Anchorman." or "Forty-Year-Old Virgin" Needless to say, if you loved those movies, and Ferrell himself, then "Talladega Nights" will be right down you alley.