Ricky Bobby: A Toda Velocidade

If you're in the right mood, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is absolutely hilarious. This NASCAR parody takes plenty of laps around the track of ridiculousness in order to get some laughs. It's obvious that Adam McKay just let the actors do and say whatever they wanted take after take until he found something he thought was funny. And there are plenty of quotable moments from this movie. That being said, this movie is an acquired taste, and the outlandish story & acting are sure to annoy some. I was glad to ride with Ricky Bobby once again, but I didn't find it as funny as I used to.

One of Ferrell's stronger, fearlessly idiotic films, with the style his career is built on: comedy surrounding moronic characters doing stupid stuff.

Ricky Bobby, showcasing all the stereotypical characteristics of a redneck, is a loudmouth NASCAR driver of immense talent, who either wins or crashes trying. When a sophisticated but snooty French Formula One driver encroaches on Bobby's territory, he goes all out to stay number one.

Ferrell has a great chemistry with Reilly, a connection to be visited later in their careers. In general, it is a fairly star-studded cast, Adams thrown in with a fairly minor impact role for most of the film. Cohen is recruited to lean into a daft foreign stereotype, his speciality, but with no need for subtlety on this one, blunt jokes revolving around how the character's supposed superiority and often his homosexuality is responded to by the world of NASCAR.

Much like Anchorman and Step Brothers, the film is really ridiculous, loud and brash. Something Ferrell's fans will love, and that others would hate. Honestly though, the bloopers at the end are probably the funniest part.

When looking at the merits of a movie and decide whether it is good or not, one must think of the goal of the picture. Is it a serious film, designed to comment on society, or is the movie's job to merely entertain? I think we all know the answer to this one when it comes to Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. This movie's goal is to entertain the audience, make them laugh, make them spend an hour and a half rejoicing in talented comedians doing their job well. And this movie reached its goal. Not only is this movie an above-average sports movie (it even concludes with a big race and a warm and fuzzy winner!), but is also a very funny movie. All I had to do was listen to the reaction of the sold out theater I was in and I knew that most people will find this movie to be very funny. Will Ferrell is Ricky Bobby, a NASCAR driver who makes up one half of "Shake and Bake," with John C. Reilly's Cal Naughton, Jr. being the "Bake" half of the duo. They are childhood friends who have now become teammates on the top NASCAR level, where Cal sets up the play that lets Ricky win almost every race--that is, unless Ricky has already crashed out of it. Talladega Nights follows the same story arc that Days of Thunder did, but is far more entertaining, as Ferrell and Reilly work together to bring humor to all parts of the racer's lives, including a bizarre dinner ritual that includes corporate sponsorship. Sure, the movie slows down for about 20 minutes in the middle to develop plot, but that may have been designed to give us, the audience, a break, allowing us to get ready for the final scenes of the movie. Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G, Borat) plays the French Formula 1 driver who threatens to oust Ricky Bobby as the best driver on the track, perhaps the funniest overall character in the movie. There is not one scene with Cohen in it that isn't funny. After watching this movie, it is clear why Will Ferrell takes his comedies so seriously (watch the extras on the Elf DVD to see Ferrell between scenes, he's not always "on" playing the clown on set)--he gets the results he's looking for. This movie is laugh-out-loud funny pretty much from start to finish, and seeing Gary Cole return to comedy as Ricky Bobby's father will bring back memories of Office Space for a moment, then this new character will win you over.

Will Ferrell at his best.

Seriously… Here, Ferrell plays a good ole country boy with rocks for brains and only one worry in the world and that's winning. Sound like a familiar past TV character of his? Ferrell is also a Writer on this film with Director Adam McKay, who together have made a solid comedy team since those SNL days, including 2004's "Anchor Man." But standing just as tall in this picture is the surprising man-about-town, Mr. Sasha Cohen (Borat, Ali G, Bruno) as Ricky Bobby's French nemesis, Jean Girard. This guy is such a great character actor it was difficult to even spot him at first. But who else would be brave enough to kiss Ferrell on the lips?

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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Rikcy Bobby is an incredible comedy that's gleefully stupid whilst also cleverly mocking the tropes and conventions of racing dramas. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are both incredible and have fantastic chemistry. Sacha Baron Cohen, Jane Lynch, Gary Cole and Michael Clarke Duncan are all great. It's consistently extremely funny even if a few jokes don't land. It's also well paced and Adam McKay's direction is excellent. Both the music by Alex Wurman and the soundtrack are really good.