|
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
"While the movie had its hilarious moments, the overall product disappointed me."
By Alex Espinoza
For years, Will Ferrell has entertained us with his great sense of humor on both TV and the silver screen. After eight great years on Saturday Night Live, Ferrell moved on to Hollywood and cemented himself as one of the biggest stars in comedy today. This summer, he has taken his jokes to the NASCAR race track in the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Youth Radio's Alex Espinoza tells us what he thinks of Ferrell's new comedy.
After conquering the box offices with comedy blockbusters like Old School and Anchorman, funny man Will Ferrell had another go with a big summer movie production. This time he plays the outrageous and over-the-top NASCAR driver, Ricky Bobby.
Together with his best friend from childhood, Cal Naughton Jr., Ricky Bobby forms the “Shake and Bake” duo that dominates the NASCAR competition. With all his victories on the race track, a beautiful trophy wife, and a water front mansion, all is well in Ricky Bobby’s world. Until one day, when French Formula 1 driver, Jean Girrard crashes Bobby’s party, and takes over the title as NASCAR’s best driver. Ricky’s life is then turned upside down, and he must cope with the fact he is no longer number one.
While the movie had its hilarious moments, the overall product disappointed me. I’m a huge fan of the stupid humor that Will Ferrell makes his living off of, so I definitely went into this movie with lofty expectations. Combined with the major media hype during the weeks leading up to the movie, and my absolute love for Anchorman and Old School, my hopes for Talladega Nights were too high.
Don’t get me wrong, I did laugh uncontrollably during a few of the movie’s scenes, but it was lacking some of the things that made the two aforementioned features so great.
One reason why Anchorman was such a good comedy was Ferrell’s ability to capture Ron Burgundy’s character so well. In Talladega Nights, I don’t think he did nearly as good a job playing Rocky Bobby. In my opinion, he could have used a lot more enthusiasm at certain parts of the movie and stayed within the outrageous character he is painted to be.
Another thing that was missing was a great chemistry with his supporting cast, in this case his pit crew. Not to discount the fact that his pit crew was pretty funny, but they didn’t quite click as well as Will Ferrell did with his frat brothers of Old School or the news team in Anchorman.
One thing the movie did get right however, were the scenes that showcased Will Ferrell’s vintage sense of humor. His off-the-wall observational remarks, and physical humor were responsible for many of the comical highpoints of the production. Another plus about Talladega Nights are the ridiculous outtakes and bloopers which air during the credits.
I would definitely recommend seeing this flick strictly because of Will Ferrell’s comical genius. However, I wouldn’t go into it expecting another Anchorman, because it’s not nearly as good. But if you appreciate random and stupid humor I think you will have a good time at the theater regardless.
|
|
