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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
- Review Date: December 11, 2006
- PG-13
- Genre: Comedy
- 2006
Common Sense Media says
Wild, raunchy comedy about NASCAR culture.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that the movie includes relentless commercial product placements, by way of parodying professional racing's tendency to slap logos on every available surface. The film also features lots of bawdy chatter concerning a wayward father's lusty behaviors and his son's cheating wife. The hero's two young sons spend half the movie behaving badly -- talking back to elders, cursing, and damaging property -- as their father, a stereotypical "redneck" parody, encourages them. An arm-breaking scene includes loud bone-breaking noise; several car crashes are violent (cars flipping and smashing and catching on fire). The film includes gay characters who kiss each other and declare themselves married. Characters refer to drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes.
What's the story?
At an early age, Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) falls in love with speed. As an adult, Ricky goes from NASCAR pit crew member to a driving partnership with teammate Cal Naughton (John C. Reilly): They perfect a tag-teaming system they call "shake 'n' bake," by which Cal maneuvers on the track in ways that always allow Ricky to win. Ricky turns out to be an ungracious winner, though. He marries a gold-digging busty blond, Carley (Leslie Bibb), turns out a couple of obnoxious sons, and gets rich thanks to endorsement contracts. While he keeps Cal close, their relationship is premised on Ricky's superiority and his friend's abject subservience. All this ends when a challenger appears on the circuit. The French-born Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) is everything Ricky is not: literate, witty, and openly gay. He's also a very good driver and brutally efficient: On their first encounter in a bar, Jean breaks Ricky's arm, thus putting him out of racing commission. When Ricky returns to the track, he gets in an accident so traumatizing that he believes he's paralyzed. Losing his riches, wife, and contracts, Ricky must then struggle back to the top of his heap.
Is it any good?
Both vulgar and cheerful, like most other Will Ferrell movies, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY is also slightly tricky. It makes fun of multiple targets, using equally obnoxious tactics. No one is spared: It mocks stereotypically "redneck" NASCAR culture as well as other groups (gays, foreigners, and intellectuals). It's a parody, but kids may miss the point.
While this story is simple enough, the execution is often startlingly maladroit. While there is plainly an enthusiastic audience for the Anchorman school of filmmaking, this incarnation seems more a string of skits (namely, opportunities for Ferrell to act silly, which he does well) than a movie per se. In fact, the closing credits over outtakes is the funnier version of this approach. So if you go, stay through to the end.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the terrible role models provided by the parents over subsequent generations. How is Ricky's father disappointing to him, and how does Ricky raise his own children to be lazy, selfish, and rude? What's Ricky's mother's role in the film? They can also talk about whether this parody challenges or reinforces stereotypes about NASCAR.
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AGE
Awesome Movie
This movie is awesome. NASCAR and racing in general is cool. I love the race with Jamie McMurray (The guy who gets the finger from Ricky Bobby). It shows the classic drive-in-reverse-and-still-win-for-some-reason thing. I don't like the French guy though. How can someone enter NASCAR mid-season and become wildly popular all of a sudden? And how does he get the points lead so fast? Oh well, just enjoy the kick butt racing action.
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AGE
awesome
this movie was soooooo funny!!! its wayy better unrated though so watch it unrated.
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Better for Nascar fans, But still enjoyable.
Very good. Some LOL Moments
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Only about 20% of Americans like this movie, I am one of them
Its nowhere near the best comedy but still something I can watch.
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Funny
This was a funny movie, but not for kids.
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Very funny but Ranchy
Cool movie. I laughed a lot. Some of the humor was not good but it was funny. Just depends on you and your kid.
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Ferrell comedy is OK
All of my friends think this movie is one of the best of all time. "Anchorman," "Other Guys," and "Elf" were all way better than this, though this does beat "Semi-Pro." There aren't any hilarious jokes, but there is alot of funny stuff spread throughout. Maybe I would get it better if I was a racing fan!
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AGE
Funny for fans of NASCAR and People that aren't fans of NASCAR (like myself)
It's pretty funny, except it has a lot of issues. The end is really good. I love Sacha Baron Cohen (he's in it near the end) and I also love Will Ferrel. Overall, watch it as an adult, but prescreen for your kids.
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| Studio: | Columbia Tristar |
| Director: | Adam McKay |
| Cast: | John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Will Ferrell |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 105 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | August 4, 2006 |
| DVD release date: | December 12, 2006 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | crude and sexual humor, language, drug references and brief comic violence |
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