Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Against my will I went to see "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky
Bobby." I say against my will because though I love Will Ferrell I have to
admit I have been disappointed by his last few movies, so my expectations
were pretty low. However, I was pleasantly surprised.
Will Ferrell plays Ricky Bobby, a 'born' NASCAR driver who achieves huge
success only to have his supremacy challenged by an over-the-top French
Formula One driver brought in specifically to defeat and humiliate Ricky
Bobby.
This movie was pretty darn funny. The entire cast seemed to project an air
of having really had fun doing this movie and it showed on screen. In a
comedy, the chemistry is particularly important and this movie certainly had
it. I must also report, right up front, that I truly enjoyed the fact that
a new slap-stick comedy did NOT resort to bathroom humor to get laughs. Life itself can be quite hysterical and it was nice to see a movie that
focused on that without having to add fart jokes, bowel movement humor and
other disgusting bathroom pranks to entertain the audience.
It is hard for me to say how this movie could have been better, because I
honestly had such low expectations, I thought it was pretty darn good as is. The only thing I would maybe say is that at the end of the movie, while
the credits were rolling, they showed a few outtakes and I think many of
them would have added a bit more laughs to the movie itself. The movie was
funny without them, don't get me wrong, but a few more 'just to make you
laugh out loud' moments wouldn't have gone unappreciated.
Grade wise for this movie, I would have to give it a very strong and solid
B+. Not quite A material (I can be a bit picky about A's - I didn't get
many in my life so I am reluctant to hand them out for free now) but so
close I would have to add a + to the B to be fair. You don't necessarily
have to see it in the cinema but if you want a fun night out, you won't be
wasting your money.
I would grade this movie based upon the following breakdown:
Story: B. The plot developed quickly and moved rather smoothly, but there
were some portions that could have been easily eliminated and/or expanded,
but overall nothing suffered.
Acting: B. Will Ferrell was back in good form after a few 'duds.' John C.
Reilly was excellent as the best, doormat friend and Sacha Baron Cohen was
terrific as the very disturbing and mean French Formula One driver. The
chemistry between Ferrell and Cohen was great and it was nice to see it come
to fruition - watch the movie to understand.
Visuals: N/A. There really wasn't anything spectacular about the visuals
in this movie. The visuals I noticed mostly consisted of car wrecks, which
were pretty cool but hardly 'review worthy.'
Originality/Innovation: B. The movie itself was pretty original. Though
it could be described as 'the NASCAR version of Waterboy', it was good fun
and enjoyable all the same.
Enjoyability: A. Few minutes past without me laughing over something,
which is how any good comedy should be. And even revisted jokes (Will
Ferrell was in his underwear more than once) were still funny the next time
around. They didn't push the limit on jokes like some movies do. They went
in for the laugh and left on a high note.
Overall grade: B+. Good acting, good story, good laughs. Overall, I would
say if you really want to hit the cinema and there is nothing else suiting
your fancy, give this a try and I doubt you will be disappointed.
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