Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is rather significant. Why? Because it is the first team up of Will Farrell and John C. Reily on the big screen. Released in 2006, Talladega Nights was released at a great time. Back when Will Farrell was at his height in the film industry and back when NASCAR was pretty popular. It only seemed that a movie should be made in hopes of making lots of money. And it did. Talladega Nights had a budget of $72.5 million and made back over double that amount. For the longest time I thought that Step Brothers was the better team up but since my opinion has slightly changed over that film alone, will Talladega Nights see a change in opinion?
Ricky Bobby has lived his whole life by the motto of "If you ain't first, you're last". Ricky Bobby is also a NASCAR driver and possibly the best there is. When a new race driver named Jean Girard comes to race, it seems that Ricky has met his match. A wreck occurs and Ricky is thought to be done with racing, but the Talladega race is coming around the corner, and Ricky wants to race. But most importantly, win.....
Again, for the longest time, I always saw Step Brothers as the better Reily and Ferrell film. But that has changed. I am not saying that this is leaps and bounds better than Step Brothers. I like Step Brothers and I like this film. But this film is not really a piece of art. The acting is fine. The actors feel right in their respective roles and to a point that I honestly forgot that Will Ferrell does not have a southern accent. Oscar worthy? No, considering the tough competition and what not, but still good. The characters themselves are fine too. They mostly follow the typical sterotypes which is something that some people say made NASCAR look bad. But, they all have chemistry and are loads of fun to watch. Especially Reily and Ferrell which is great that they did Step Brothers together. The story is considerably better in this film than Step Brothers as it is more complex and has an actual plot and what not. The comedy is good. Whereas Step Brothers took the really potty mouth approach, Talladega Nights is not quite as potty mouth with it's humor. Again, it is that dumb smart humor which actually works best in this film. Almost because it is a sort of satire in a way. I found myself laughing more than in Step Brothers which was the big deal about me changing my mind about how this film compares to Step Brothers. Not nearly as quotable as Step Brothers, but just the scenes by themselves are memorable.
Talladega Nights is a funny film. Some prefer Step Brothers over this film which is fine. If you are a fan of Will Ferrell and/or racing, this film should entertain you.
