Talledega Nights:The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (PG-13)
Mike:
Scott:
Scott: Tonight we are reviewing Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby 
, the new comedy from Will Ferrell . This movie finds Ferrell starring as hotshot NASCAR racer Ricky Bobby who is challenged for supremacy by Frenchman, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) .
What did you think Mike?
Mike: I laughed all the way through this movie.
Scott: No, I heard you stop laughing for at least 5 minutes at some point.
Mike: Just so I could breathe.
Mike: This movie is this year’s Wedding Crashers .
How about you?
Scott: This was a really funny movie. I thought the trailers were funny, but they were just the tip of the iceberg. Even the scenes from the trailers were funnier than in the trailer.
Mike: Will Ferrell may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but he should be. I think the only way you wouldn't laugh is if you just don't like him and even then you may laugh involuntarily.
Scott: The movie was just flat out funny. The jokes weren't crude or gross like we have been seeing lately, just funny. Some are dumb funny, but they are funny.
Mike: I agree. This movie heavily relies on NASCAR without making fun of racing or race fans, which would have been the lazy way to be funny.
Scott: They make fun of the stereotypes without making fun of the fans.
Mike: The other thing is that Will isn’t the only funny person in the movie. Gary Cole as Reese Bobby, Ricky’s no-good white-trash daddy is hilarious.
Scott: Cole has really shown himself a diverse actor since I first noticed him in Office Space .
Mike: The other standout is John C. Reilly as Ricky’s best friend, Cal Naughton Jr. It’s funny to think that he was in Days of Thunder about 16 years ago. That dude must like NASCAR.
Scott: He has been in a bunch of movies and I never knew he was this funny. He delivers deadpan lines with the best of them.
Mike: There are a few Saturday Night Live alumni floating through here too. Molly Shannon and David Koechner .
Scott: Shannon is good for a couple laughs in the movie. Koechner, who I liked in Waiting , really is in the background and doesn't say a whole bunch.
No good movie is without conflict and that is brilliantly provided by Cohen.
Mike: Actually, I was most disappointed by him.
Scott: I really liked him and was impressed with another strong performance by him in this. He was the lone shining point in Madagascar , and he was up to the task of going against Ferrell in this.
Mike: To me he was the highlight of Madagascar also, but I don't think his French accent was as funny as he thought it was.
Scott: I loved it his accent. I think there was a good bit of improv with him and Ferrell. Very funny stuff.
Mike: Did you see it looks like he’s going to be in Madagascar 2 ? Who knew there would be such a thing?
I also want to say that I thought Ricky's sons Walker (Houston Tumlin) and Texas Ranger (Grayson Russell ) had some great lines.
Scott: They were funny, but did get a bit old after a while.
Mike: Did you recognize Ricky's wife Carley Bobby (Leslie Bibb) ?
Scott: From a recent Stuff magazine, yes.
Mike: Not the reference I was looking for.
Scott: From where do you recognize her?
Mike: This is some Richmond, VA trivia.
She was in short lived series about FBI agents called Line of Fire that takes place in Richmond and was actually filmed here.
Scott: She is a year younger than me
Mike: How does it keep coming back around to you?
Scott: Got to put everything in perspective
Scott: She went to school around here too. She went to St. Gertrude's, graduated in 1993.
Mike: In that show she had dark hair.
A note to NASCAR fans, this movie definitely had the cooperation of NASCAR and tries very hard to be accurate.
Scott: Some things are set up for movie purposes, but that stuff is forgivable.
Mike: True, in fact I was at last October’s race at the Charlotte speedway and my friends and I looked at each other and wondered where the Wonder Bread car came from.
They announced during the race that they were filming scenes for this movie that night.
I'm sure if you look hard at the crowd you can see Tom, Anthony and me.
Scott: I thought I saw you up there!
Mike: Also NASCAR fans will recognize all the commentators. They feature all of them from every network at one point or the other. There are also several Driver cameos.
Scott: This was directed by Adam McKay , he hasn't done much, but he did work with Anchorman with Will Ferrell.
Mike: This movie is a big improvement over Anchorman. That movie had its funny moments, but was too rambling for me.
Scott: It was a bad ‘character’ comedy. Whereas this is a funny ‘character’ comedy.
They were different enough for one to work and the other crash.
Mike: Looks like Adam is an SNL alumnus as well.
Scott: McKay and Ferrell wrote both movies and they really improved in this movie.
Mike: The good thing about this movie is that if you think you've seen all the funny stuff in the trailer, you are wrong. Which is nice for a change.
Scott: That was a nice surprise
So what do you rate this?
Mike: I know I've been going crazy with the 4s lately, but it is summer time. I give this a 4 overall and a 4 for comedy.
Mike: How about you?
Scott: I give this a 4.5 overall and a 4.5 for comedy. This was a very funny movie and I recommend you go out and see it this weekend!
Mike: I think I might actually go back to the theater to see this with my wife. That means actually paying for a movie, so you know I must like it.
Scott: That's a big leap!
Mike: I know.
Scott: There is something at the end of the movie, after all the credits are over. It’s not that funny, but you should hang around to catch it.
Mike: Race out to see this movie like you are being chased by the cops (and there is cocaine taped under the car)!
