InsidePulse Review – Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

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Image courtesy of www.impawards.com

Director :

Adam McKay

Cast :

Gary Cole……….Reese Bobby
Jane Lynch……….Lucy Bobby
Will Ferrell……….Ricky Bobby
John C. Reilly……….Cal Naughton, Jr.
Susan……….Amy Adams
Carley Bobby……….Leslie Bibb
Houston Tumlin……….Walker
Grayson Russell……….Texas Ranger
Greg Germann……….Dennit Jr.
Sasha Baron Cohen……….Jean Girard

Biopics have become a major trend in Hollywood in the last several years, combing some of history’s most memorable people for some memorable films. Ray, Capote and Walk the Line showcased some of history’s more interesting characters in Johnny Cash, Truman Capote and Ray Charles. One can only imagine what it would be like if this same sort of story-telling focused on a sports hero. But while the aforementioned films took their material deeply serious, it only takes the comedic power of Will Ferrell to go for something deeply comedic. Enter Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Designed as a spoof of the biopic and of the underdog genre, Talladega Nights focuses on the best stock car racer in NASCAR: Ricky Bobby (Ferrell). A man who only wants to drive fast in order to escape the demons of his past, the film is a hilarious send up of the genre and a loving touch to a fan-base often derided by mainstream sports media. While marred by some jokes that don’t hit on all cylinders, the film is a redemption for a comic whose last summer film (Bewitched) misfired across the board.

Ricky Bobby is a man whose only mission in life has been to drive fast. After his father Reese (Gary Cole) abandons him at a young age, sporadically reappearing for comic effect, Ricky is focused from childhood to become a racer. When preparation meets opportunity, Ricky is able to use this to vault himself to the top of the sport and bring his best friend Cal (John C. Reilly) into the fold as his best weapon on the track. On top of the game, Bobby goes from being a soft-spoken member of the pit crew to being a loud and overly confident athlete with a beautiful wife (Leslie Bibb) and two equally brash children (Houston Tumlin and Grayson Russell) to go with fame, fortune and plenty of endorsements. When his combative nature with his boss (Greg Germann) earns him his wrath, it also brings about a rival for the supremacy of the sport: Frenchman Jean Girard (Sasha Baron Cohen).

Talladega Nights focuses on Bobby’s rise, fall and ultimate redemption as he has to learn how to win again. But behind this relatively innocuous sports story is a lampooning of everything about the genre as Ferrell and longtime associate Adam McKay (who also directed Anchorman) go for broke in trying to make this an incredibly funny film. The film has two basic premises for its comedy on which Talladega Nights ultimately succeeds on: its main star and its subject matter.

The first is that more of Ferrell is always a good thing; McKay and Ferrell, who wrote the film, focus the bulk of their energy on Bobby and his interactions with the world around. It’s great for the comedy, as Ferrell is in rare form and is incredibly funny for the bulk of the film, but the crux of it is that it leaves the rest of the cast relatively underused and in need of better material. All of the good material and gags are left for Ferrell, so when he’s not on screen the film isn’t nearly as funny as it could be. With a talented cast, even Sasha Baron Cohen of TV’s “Da Ali G Show” isn’t given nearly as much material to work with as could’ve been provided. Cohen and his reactions with Ferrell are priceless, leaving for many strong laughs, but when Cohen is left to his own devices for moments on his own or with others it’s much less funny.

Stock car racing itself is a subject that hasn’t been explored too often for comedic effect, but McKay and Ferrell treat it with a certain reverence that spoofing the underdog formula detracts from. While the way they take shots at the clichéd “former champion who redeems himself” storyline are inspired, they don’t go nearly as far as they could in terms of going for good laughs. While McKay obviously doesn’t want to alienate a chunk of his audience that will see the film, the film seems to be holding back at periods of time in the film when a couple heavier shots wouldn’t be excessive. It takes away from the sort of comedic sting that could’ve been had.

CATEGORY SCORE
STORY 7 / 10
ACTING 7 / 10
LOOK/FEEL 8.5 / 10
ORIGINALITY 8.5 / 10
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE 7.5/ 10