Directed By: Adam McKay
Written By: Adam McKay and Will Ferrell
Cast: Will Ferrell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jane Lynch, John C. Reilly
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, rated PG-13, is a comedic portrayal of a fictitious NASCAR driver's rise to fame. The film satirically looks at the pop-culture of advertising and racing sports. There are also many hilarious lines that you'll probably find yourself repeating to your friends.
Talladega Nights is not the first time that writer/director Adam McKay and writer/actor Will Ferrell teamed up to write a movie. You may remember their film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004). It was kind of a big deal. Anyway, Talladega Nights is their second major film as a writing team. Similar to Anchorman, Talladega Nights is about a dimwitted main character that is outrageously vain, yet oblivious to the discomfort of the people around him. The main character's arrogance is so dumb that the audience can't help but laugh at the lack of humility. Fictitious NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is the Talladega Nights main character whose self-promoting idiocy works perfectly with the large amounts of sponsorships and advertising usually associated with NASCAR. The role is unique, but there is nothing incredibly special about Will Ferrell's performance except for the fact that he is a generally humorous actor and uses a believable southern accent. However, John C. Reilly (Gangs of New York [2002] & Magnolia [1999]) does a hilarious job in his supporting role as Ricky Bobby's teammate Cal Naughton, Jr. and Gary Cole, infamously known for his role as Bill Lumbergh in the cult classic Office Space (1999), proves to be a great deadbeat redneck as Ricky Bobby's father.
Talladega Nights stands as a solid comedy and is worth checking out on the big screen or when it comes to video.