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Directed by: Adam McKay Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Gary Cole, Sacha Baron Cohen According to IMDB, the pitch for this movies was simply: "Six words: Will Ferrell as a Nascar driver." I saw the first showing at midnight in a very packed house. This movie did not disappoint. Will Ferrell stars as race car driver Ricky Bobby. The first portion of the film shows how racing is in his blood and how he becomes king of NASCAR. To say that Ricky is narcassistic is an understatement. It's this attitude that is used as the springboard for the hillarious absurdity of this film. With the help of his friend, played by John C. Reilly, Ricky Bobby climbs to the heights of fame and fortune. However all is not well when we are introduced to rival Jean Jirard played with an insane zeal by Sacha Baron Cohen. A majority of this film deals with the struggles of Ricky Bobby as he tries to overcome numerous obstacles, including "COUGAR OUTTA FUCKIN NOWHERE!!!", thanks to the insane training of his ammoral absentee father, played to the hilt by the always interesting Gary Cole. Not only are the main characters funny, but there is a ton of minor characters that stand out (especially take note of when Andy Richter shows up). The pacing of this movie worked very well. This is a movie worth seeing. RATING: 5.5. PROS: drat freaking funny! CONS: Its too bad Steve Carrell had a scheduling conflict. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415306/ spooky kid fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Aug 4, 2006 |
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Aug 4, 2006 09:42
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 18:37 |
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I went to the midnight show of this film and I honestly didn't think it was as good as Anchorman. I think Talladega Nights is best summarized with the quote from the OP: "Six words: Will Ferrell as a Nascar driver." It has some funny moments, but overall the beginning of the movie felt completely rushed and the character introduction is practically non-existant. However, once you reach the middle and end of the movie, the pace and everything feel better. I honestly think this movie could have been slightly better if it didn't feel as though Will Ferrell was made to be the only guy you should care about. It was like watching a Will Ferrell comedy in the sense that he's the only funny person here. Everyone acted fairly well, especially Gary Cole and John C. Reilly. Amy Adams was incredibly hot, and Sacha Baron Cohen fit his ridiculous french guy role perfectly. Steve Carrell probably would have made this movie much better, even if was to draw most of the attention away from Will Ferrell. If he had a part in this movie, I probably would have rated it higher than I did. If there was any message to be delivered with this movie, it would probably end up being "NASCAR is gay." It fits perfectly. 3.5/5.5 SHUTUP CUNT fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Aug 4, 2006 |
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Aug 4, 2006 17:00
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I just got back from watching this. I'm visiting my parents in the heart of race country (just 20 minutes from the Bristol track). I hate NASCAR and everything about it but I wanted to see this movie because of Will Ferrel. I think my Dad (who doesn't like NASCAR either) laughed more than anyone in the theater. I guess everyone else came to the movie thinking it was going to be Days of Thunder 2 with Ferrel as the new Cole Trickle because they didn't laughed throughout the movie. If they were smart enough to realize it, this movie is actually somewhat of a slap in the face to NASCAR culture. I thought it was an ok movie overall, nowhere near as good as Anchorman, or as silly. 3/5
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Aug 4, 2006 20:21
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I loved absolutely everything about this movie. All the actors are perfectly cast. No jokes failed. It was brilliant. I'd say it was better than Anchorman. I can't express how great the movie is, really. It's wonderful. One of my new favorite movies. 5.5/5
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Aug 4, 2006 22:53
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I loved the cast. Will Ferrel, Ali G, Andy Ricter, Molly Shannon was actually funny, and Lumberg from Office Space was pretty good. 4/5
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Aug 5, 2006 04:03
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Awful movie. The lines felt forced, the jokes weren't very funny, and most of the dialogue was something you'd expect out of real life redneck retards, and not in a comedic manner. It really says something about the movie that I thought the out-takes were the funniest part. 10 minutes into the movie I already knew how the plot was going to progress including the romance bits which fell completely flat and empty. This movie was a waste of Ali G, and I can't believe that it came from the same people who did Anchorman. 1/5 - More commercial plugs in the movie than laughs.
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Aug 5, 2006 07:51
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The movie is, of course, an awful lot of Will Ferrel, so if you love Will Farrel doing stupid things you'll love this movie. I'm not a huge fan, but like him enough to give it a shot. There are some funny bits, but overall I felt that there was an overdose of blunt, obvious humor. If the writers had sprinkled in even one or two jokes that required a tiny bit of thinking, I would have really enjoyed it. Many jokes are repeated so many times that they cease to be funny, and a few of the characters are pretty weak. Parts in the middle and the end drag on horribly. Cohen is a funny guy, and I might be alone here, but I did not find his character to be particularly funny. It was essentially what I expected. A silly movie with some decent laughs, but nothing that ever really made me crack up or want to see it ever again. It lacked that killer scene that was absolutely hilarious that many semi-funny movies of this type have--the final scene of Virgin, or the fight scene in Anchorman. 2.5/5
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Aug 5, 2006 14:35
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I love Farrell doing stupid things, and I loved this movie. I think the only thing that wasnt absolutely hillarious in this movie was the subplot with the team owner. After Girard is introduced it doesnt affect the plot at all and wasnt as funny as the rest of the movie, but they still devoted about 4 minutes total to him. While this movie didnt have its huge 'Anchorman Fight Scene' moment, it did have a ton of smaller scenes that were just as funny, such as the knife scene, the fire scene, and the divorce scene. 5/5
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Aug 5, 2006 16:12
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Not so much a movie but more of a two hour montage of one-liners. Funny but it proves that no matter how funny a movie is, you need a solid plot. 4/5 (You will be hearing those one liners a lot from now on) "I'm Ricky Bobby and if you don't like Big Red, gently caress you."
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Aug 5, 2006 20:50
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The jokes were so obvious that they mostly came off as being cheap shots at rednecks. I felt like I was watching a two hour episode of Blue Collar TV. The cougar is the only thing that really made me chuckle. The only people laughing in the theater were the 13 year old girls behind me because "OMG it's Will Ferrel and He's soo funny!!!". It looked like it had potential but the only funny parts of the movie have already been given away in the trailer and even then they aren't that good. Rent this if you must see it. 1/5
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Aug 6, 2006 07:06
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Just got back from seing it. I thought it was an enjoyable movie but I went in expecting too much and was let down. The supporting cast was not as entertaining as Anchorman and right now I really can't pick out any really endearing lines that stick in my head (besides the Big Red commercial). This is probally because I'm not a big Nascar fan so I couldn't connect with the plot and I'm not big into the whole white trash scene. Anchorman was flashy and witty with a healthy share of ridiculous, this was crass and loud with a healthy share of attitude that I just couldn't buy. 3.0/5.0
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Aug 6, 2006 07:11
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I loved it precisely because it had no real plot, and the pacing was off, and there were like four endings. So often nowadays good comedies get weighed down when they try and make sense. Here, and with Anchorman, Ferrel and company had the good sense to just be funny. And it works very well. 4.0
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Aug 6, 2006 07:29
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I saw it last night. It had its funny moments, If you don't chew Big Red, gently caress You The underwear scenes were pretty lame though, Will Farrel is funny, but he got alot of groans from me. I liked the interview with the hands thing at the beginning, that was hilarious. But much too much man on man action for my liking. 2.5/5 (and I'm still calling it Ron Burgundy 2)
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Aug 6, 2006 17:27
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This movie was absolutely one of the funniest movies I think I've ever seen, period. There was alot of subtle nuanced humor, and the whole thing was a giant cheap-shot at rednecks and NASCAR anyway. quote:even will's kids were funny as balls, same with the guy who kept bragging about his Halliburton stock
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Aug 6, 2006 19:13
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From the producers of Anchorman--this has to be the biggest letdown this summer for me. I don't know if it's because I didn't think it was as funny since I'm from Northern AL, or because I was especting at least something to the value of Anchorman or Oldschool, but I only found a few chuckles out of Talladega Nights, at the most. Honestly, avoid this Will Farrell comedy like the plauge, because it isn't funny, and the accents are loving overdone and annoying to the point of not being funny in the least. Just make the French guy sound like a French guy, we don't have to make him sound like a 4 year old four laughs. Anchorman was funny because of the situational humor. The dialogue was funny, but it was the characters that exaggerated it. Talladega hardly has any genuinely funny situations (other than the ones in the trailers, such as the Tom Cruse help me! scene), and the dialogue is annoying to gently caress because the producers thought it would be funny to make them sound like the biggest hicks on Earth. You don't need stupid accents to have a great Nascar/Southern comedy. Just go with what you did in the past and appeal to the audience because of the hilarity of the moment. Pros: Some lines/situations will make you laugh (Cougar in the car, Ron on "fire", and the saying grace scene) Cons: HUGE letdown. What a waste of talent. You've got Andy Richter in one of the smallest roles... use your characters wisely when they're on screen for gently caress sakes. The whole movie makes me angry they wasted this idea. Rating: 1/5.5 Edit: The fact that this movie is scoring higher than Pirates 2 just goes to show The Film Dump is going downhill. People are voting it the Best Movie Ever Seen, and more than likely it isn't the best movie they've ever seen. Johnny B. Goode fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Aug 7, 2006 |
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Aug 6, 2006 20:38
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I thought it was hilarious, I was laughing pretty much through the whole movie. This is obviously gonna get a lot of comparisions to Anchorman, which I think is the better film. It had a more solid plot and it didn't feel like Ferrel was carrying the whole movie on his shoulders. I was kinda sad that Andy Richter only had a few lines. 4/5 if you like Nascar and homoerotic scenes. Oh, and I loved the knife part.
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Aug 7, 2006 00:53
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I laughed harder at the Borat preview than I did for this movie. Will Ferrell "on fire" scenes dragged, and the trailer gave away all the funny parts. I was genuinely bored and waited for it to end. 1.5/5
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Aug 7, 2006 02:22
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johnnybgood1234 posted:I am offended by redneck humor.  This was the dumbest movie I've ever seen, but also one of the funniest. There were parts when it felt like my lungs were going to explode out of my chest, then explode and kill everyone in the room. Pros: funny as hell Cons: really stupid 4.5/5
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Aug 7, 2006 17:14
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Carl Winslow posted:I laughed harder at the Borat preview than I did for this movie. Will Ferrell "on fire" scenes dragged, and the trailer gave away all the funny parts. I was genuinely bored and waited for it to end. I too laughed much, much harder at the Borat trailer than Talladega Nights. What made the movie disappointing for me was how it's a step backward from Anchorman in that the supporting cast, script, and subject material weren't as strong as they were in Anchorman. While many people will find the movie entertaining enough (like me), the Anchorman comparisons will probably not cease, and the forgettable cast, while decent enough, seemed more like side props to Ferrell's antics than part of the comedy. Talladega Nights' gags were a tad too predictable; I was expecting Wet Hot American Summer and Anchorman-ish gags. I wanted to bust out laughing throughout the movie but instead held back with a smile - the movie just never brought me over the edge. I guess no matter how hard they try, NASCAR will always make for a boring movie experience. 2.5/5
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Aug 7, 2006 18:39
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I was cringing hardcore at this flick. There's stuff in here I think I would have cracked up at when I was a little kid, but not now. It baffles me how some people can rag on "Blue Collar TV" forever and ever, but there's some of the same jokes here and everyone's howling. But I will say that the Appleby's ad during the wreck cracked me up something fierce. 1.5/5
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Aug 7, 2006 21:15
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Having grown up in the South I found this movie exceptionally funny. If you enjoyed Anchorman then you will probably like this movie too; it has that same type of "Haha WTF" humor that Anchorman did. There are some great scenes especially: -Will Ferrell talking about becoming a crack dealer in the bar. -The whole knife in the leg scene, especially their idea to insert a second knife to pry the first one out. -Saying grace. On the downside, Molly Shannon is loving irritating. 5/5
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Aug 8, 2006 00:26
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Incredibly funny movie that I plan to watch over and over again. Yes it was predictable, but movies like this aren't about the plot or the cinematography or the character development or any of that crap. It's about Will Ferrel and friends being funny. So if you have a big stick up your rear end like a lot of the posters in this thread, you definitely won't like it, but if you're the type who's watched the 40 Year Old Virgin or Anchorman or Old School more times than you can count, go see this. P.S. Is that a catchphrase, or is that epilepsy? 5/5
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Aug 8, 2006 21:25
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You know, I understand the need for the wonton add thing given as Nascar has an assload of sponsors. But they could have done it in such a better way, it hoenstly felt like one loving giant commercial to me and in all honesty that alone makes it impossible to score better than a two. Throw in a couple of decent jokes but most of them horrid and this movie reeks of 1.5.
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Aug 9, 2006 06:02
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I loved this movie, honestly I was cracking up throughout most of it. I agree with there being not too much backstory, but it was enough, its a comedy movie, not a documentary, it was enough to get the 'plot' moving. The whole knife scene had me laughing, the fire scenes as well, also the cougar scenes, hell... most of the movie. Honestly if you like Will Ferrell, you'll like this movie, as predictable as it is. 5/5
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Aug 11, 2006 03:05
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Pro's: Captures american redneck life perfectly, Will Ferrell, very slow car crashes. Con's: Captures american redneck life perfectly, Will Ferrell, very slow car crashes. While some people might not appreciate redneck comedy, there's no arguing that this movie at the top of the pole in it's genre. 5.5/5.5
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Aug 13, 2006 11:27
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Grew up in the South, didn't think a whole lot of this movie. This movie was all right, but I don't think it was amazing by any means. "Will Ferrell as a Nascar driver" is a very appropriate pitch for this movie, as would "Will Ferrell as Santa's displaced helper" be for Elf and "Will Ferrell as a TV newsman" be for Anchorman, because he does everything you'd expect him to do in this movie. The movie has a lot of stalls, but there are some gems, too. I won't lie, the cougar in the car made me laugh my rear end off. If you like stereotype humor or you really like Will Ferrell, go see Talladega Nights. Otherwise, I can't really recommend it. 3/5
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Aug 13, 2006 17:06
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I'm a fan of Will Ferrel, and I was in the mood for some silliness. So my wife and I went to see this movie last weekend. I viewed the movie as a series of improvisational sketches with Ferrel and John Reilly, and with a story/plot made to tie it all together. Yet despite how obvious and transparent the story seemed, it was tightly woven and wasted no time getting to the funny stuff. People can be down on this style of movie because it is simple, but I would rather believe that the film is honest and doesn't try to be something more than what it is. Actually, I think that describes a lot of Will Ferrel's movies, so if that's good enough for you then you will like this film. Really, though, I rated the film as a 3.5. It's the funniest film of the summer so far (although, I haven't seen Strangers With Candy yet.)
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Aug 14, 2006 02:53
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Carl Winslow posted:I laughed harder at the Borat preview than I did for this movie. Will Ferrell "on fire" scenes dragged, and the trailer gave away all the funny parts. I was genuinely bored and waited for it to end. 1.5
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Aug 15, 2006 07:29
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Schwarzwald posted:While some people might not appreciate redneck comedy, there's no arguing that this movie at the top of the pole in it's genre. Gene Shalot is that you? Had some funny moments and a few good characters but on the whole it was forgettable. Gary Cole was exceptional and the knife in leg scene had me laughing pretty hard. 2.5/5
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Aug 18, 2006 04:11
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its not the most intelligent movie i'll see this year but it was funny as all hell and worth the $8 4/5
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Aug 19, 2006 06:37
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I definitely laughed quite a lot at this movie. Sure it dragged, but drat did that awkward/gay tire-fixer guy crack me up. 4/5 Edit: Is that Mos Def and Elvis Costello?
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Aug 19, 2006 07:36
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Had some good bits, laughed a few times, but some of the jokes and punchlines seemed really thin - like they were really grasping at a cheap laugh but couldn't quite get it. The gay jokes really weren't that funny unless you've got the mind of a 12 year old. Which apparently most of the audience did. Guys kissing OMG GROSS MAN THAT'S SICK WTF  3/5
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Aug 19, 2006 17:52
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I thought it was hilarious for the most part; I wouldn't necessarily want to see it again but really enjoyed seeing it in the theaters. I never felt like it was dragging and thought that it worked pretty well for a comedy that didn't exactly explore a lot of new ground. 3.5/5
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Aug 20, 2006 06:56
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I didn't want my money back, but I didn't entirely feel like I got my money's worth, as far as comedy goes. I think there were a few good jokes, but I was always waiting for that one gut buster that takes the movie to another level. It never happened. Too many repeat jokes (we get it, he's gay and French, and Reilly's character is stupid), not enough writing. They just laid back and played it safe instead of going for the real humor. The father was the funniest character, I thought, with him finally picking up the tickets and then scalping them, and the cougar/blindfold 3.5/5 - JUST a smidge above average.
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Aug 21, 2006 19:21
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The movie dragged on forever and the funny scenes were few and far between. I'm really sick of these improv-centric movies because they put in stuff that's funny to them at the time, but ends up falling flat like all inside jokes that you're not in on do. I really felt bored with the pacing of this movie. Sometimes things went incredibly fast (Ricky met his wife [who he married in a 5 second montage] and then in the next scene they had a 10 and 7 year old. Had time passed? I couldn't tell.) or incredibly slow. SHAKE AND BAKE got old fast, and it was obviously a crutch that Cal fell back on when he had nothing else to improv. Sloppy, poorly acted movie. 2/5
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Aug 24, 2006 14:16
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Same with the guy a little bit above. While I thought this movie had some pretty decent laughs in some parts, it did seem like a huge commercial. By the end of the movie I could hardly breath with all the product placement shoved down my throat. 3.5/5
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Aug 27, 2006 16:58
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d0grent posted:Same with the guy a little bit above. While I thought this movie had some pretty decent laughs in some parts, it did seem like a huge commercial. I believe the product placement was supposed to be a running joke (probably related to the fact that NASCAR cars are covered with ads). I thought this would have been obvious from the endorsement on Ricky's windshield and the contractually mandated endorsement in his dinner grace. I thought the movie was hilarious. It wasn't as funny as some of Ferrel's other movies, but I was never bored and laughed in almost every scene. Even having shown parts of some of the funniest scenes in the previews (e.g. the cougar scene), they still had enough hidden away to really crack me up. And Sasha Baron Cohen was awesome in his role. 4.5/5
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Aug 28, 2006 19:10
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Many people have compared this with Anchorman, but aside from Will Ferrel as the star, it isn't really all that similar. I liked both movies for different reasons. Anchorman had a lot more absurd humor and non sequitur 'gotcha' moments, and while those aren't lacking in Ricky Bobby, the whole story actually seems to be important and the main character actually has a catharsis. (in this movie, Will Ferrel is an rear end in a top hat) I saw this movie in a two room theater in Arkansas, and it got plenty of laughs from a crowd that surely loved NASCAR. Everyone was silent during the prayer jokes, which only really happened once. Other than that, most of the jokes were unpredictable and funny. I enjoyed seeing this as much as I did Anchorman, and here's to another Will Ferrel movie. 4
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Sep 24, 2006 19:20
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After Anchorman i was rather dissapointed with Talladega Nights. Its not a bad film and does have some genuinely funny moments (although these all seem to be in the trailer) it just falls flat in the end. Whilst i can laugh and quote over lines from Anchorman with ease i really struggle to think of any particular line from Talladega that achieves the same thing. I do feel one of the problems is the lack of proper supporting characters which was what made Anchorman such a gem, the jokes werent just centered around Will Ferrel. 2.5/5 mainly because i felt rather let down by it even though by itself its a decent movie in its own right.
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Sep 26, 2006 18:52
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 18:37 |
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A lot of the humor is lost if you don't live in the south, in my opinion. Being a northener who lives in the south, this movie was absolutely killing me. I can't really give a concrete example, its more like the mannerisms and just how Ricky Bobby talks and things like that. The movie is a lot more of a hit here in Florida whereas I've noticed that its more of a hit or miss thing elsewhere. I've seen it a few times now and its still just as funny. I didn't really think Anchorman was that funny either for whatever reason. I'll give it a 4.5/5 Shake and bake got old but its just so gay that its still kinda funny to me BIZORT fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Feb 15, 2007 |
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Feb 15, 2007 23:19
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