• Release Date: 2006-12-12
• Genre: Comedy
• Artist Name: Jack Blessing, Gary Cole, Greg Germann, Pat Hingle, Jane Lynch, Ted Manson, Benny Parsons, John C. Reilly, Ian Roberts, Molly Shannon, Frank Hoyt Taylor
• Director: Adam McKay
• AMG Rating:
• MPAA Rating: Unrated
• Category: Feature Films
• Cautions: Adult Humor, Mild Violence, Profanity
• Year: 2006
• Running Time: 107
• Movie Country of Origin: USA
• Available Language: English
• Subtitles: Eng/Fre
  

When America's number one NASCAR speed-demon is issued a direct challenge from a gay, French Formula One racer with a hunger for the top spot and a mean talent for tight-cornering, the race is on to become the number one man in all of NASCAR in a full throttle comedy starring Will Ferrell and directed by Anchorman cohort Adam McKay. Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) is a national hero with a "smokin' hot" trophy wife, pair of borderline-abusively precocious sons, and an endless line of endorsement deals filling his mansion with toys and driveway with sports cars and Hummers. His racing partner and lifelong friend Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Reilly), never fails to provide him with a hand on the racetrack, frequently performing their trademark "slingshot" maneuver to shoot Ricky into first place, leaving Cal in second. While the public loves these buddies (popularly known by the meaningless childhood nicknames they find so exceedingly cool: "Shake and Bake"), a wedge comes between the two, as Ricky Bobby's longstanding winning-streak is broken by flamboyand French Formula One driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), robbing Ricky of everything in an instant as the trauma leaves him unable to drive. Ricky's wife takes his fortunes while Cal takes his wife, and now he's back with his mother (Jane Lynch) and long-estranged father (Gary Cole). Things look bad for Ricky, but his father was once a race car driver himself, and now with the help of a training montage, a live cougar, and the courage to drive without his gleaming white Wonder Bread endorsement, Ricky might be ready to face the track again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Comedy

Rise and Fall Stories, Feuds, Car Racing, Hotshots

Rowdy, Easygoing, Silly, Frantic

DVD Features

• Deleted scenes & extended scenes
• Gag reel
• Line-o-rama
• Interviews with Ricky, Cal, Carley and more
• Bonus race footage
• Will Ferrell returns to Talladega
• Commentary with director and friends
• And much more!

• 2006--Chicago Film Critics Association, Sacha Baron Cohen-Winner

Review

You can spoil a movie like Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby by saying too much about it, since most of the humor is almost impossible to accurately describe; you either like it or you don't. Fans of Will Ferrell know this brand of comedy well, and they'll find what they're looking for in this movie as Ferrell delivers a solid combination of his stock self-effacing dumbassery and an obvious sense of fun in exploring a new character. Talladega does seem like it exists in the same universe as Ferrell's last collaboration with director Adam McKay, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, even though Anchorman delivered more in terms of absolute manic hilarity. Where Talladega Nights lacks a vicious street fight between rival news teams, however, it makes up for it with John C. Reilly, a live cougar, and a dead-on satire of the white-trash NASCAR stereotype. A good example of this is Ricky's two young sons bearing the proud names Walker and Texas Ranger, a choice their mother vehemently defends: "If we wanted some wussies, we'd have named 'em Dr. Quinn and Medicine Woman!" The top-flipping, hee-hawing, KFC-is-a-balanced-meal end of the cultural spectrum isn't the only one that gets mocked: Sacha Baron Cohen proves he's capable of evoking laughter without dressing up as Borat or Ali G., as he assumes the role of a gay, French, Formula One driver with an intentionally muddled accent, a Perrier endorsement on his car, and a plan to retire with his husband to Stockholm where they can "design a currency to be used by dogs and cats." Reilly is awesomely funny as Ricky's sidekick Cal, filling the role we might have expected to see David Koechner in, and Gary Cole manages to make you laugh, rather than recoil, even though you can almost smell his dirty wife beater and can of Laughing Clown Malt Liquor. Still, if none of those descriptions sound enticing, this probably just isn't the comedy for you. If you're a fan of the Anchorman/Old School/Zoolander style WillFerrellism, however, Talladega Nights should provide more than adequate entertainment. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi