Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Theatrical Release Date: 2006 08 04 (USA)

UPC: 043396258976

Studio: Sony Pictures

Summary: 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

Category: Comedy

Awards: Most Promising Performer – Chicago Film Critics Association

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Format: DVD

Item not yet released. Pre-order this item now.

Runtime: 121 Minutes

Cammila Collar

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 Collar, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Jake Johnson  Actor 
David B. Householter  Executive Producer 
Judd Apatow  Producer 
Alex Wurman  Composer (Music Score) 
Will Ferrell  Executive Producer 
Will Ferrell  Screenwriter 
Jimmy Miller  Producer 
Adam McKay  Director 
Adam McKay  Executive Producer 
Adam McKay  Screenwriter 
Ryan Kavanaugh  Executive Producer 
Sarah Nettinga  Executive Producer 
Richard Glover  Executive Producer 
Will Ferrell  Actor 
John C. Reilly  Actor 
Sacha Baron Cohen  Actor 
Gary Cole  Actor 
Michael Clarke Duncan  Actor 
Leslie Bibb  Actor 
Jane Lynch  Actor 
Amy Adams  Actor 
Andy Richter  Actor 
Molly Shannon  Actor 
Greg Germann  Actor 
David Koechner  Actor 
Jack McBrayer  Actor 
Ian Roberts  Actor 
Jason Davis  Actor 
Lorrie Bess Crumley  Actor 
Luke Bigham  Actor 
Dick Berggren  Actor 
Austin Crimm  Actor 
Adam McKay  Actor 
John D. King  Actor 
Pat Hingle  Actor 
Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Actor 
Houston Tumlin  Actor 
Grayson Russell  Actor 
Ted Manson  Actor 
Danny Vinson  Actor 
Sylvia G. Lyerly  Actor 
Mike Joy  Actor 
Larry McReynolds  Actor 
Darrell Waltrip  Actor 
Jamie McMurray  Actor 
Dan Cox  Actor 
Bob Jenkins  Actor 
Rob Riggle  Actor 
William Boyer  Actor 
Ruffin Copeland  Actor 
Richard Benjamin  Actor 
Matt Day  Actor 
Christoph Sanders  Actor 
Pete Burris  Actor 
Frank Hoyt Taylor  Actor 
Conrad Ricamora  Actor 
Angie Fox  Actor 
Jim Wise  Actor 
Rebecca Koon  Actor 
Elvis Costello  Actor 
Mos Def  Actor 
Bill Weber  Actor 
Benny Parsons  Actor 
Wally Dellenbach  Actor 
Jack Blessing  Actor 
John Baker  Actor 
Robert R. Lee  Actor 
Matt Coulter  Actor 

Country: USA