Directed by:
Adam McKayCinematography:
Oliver WoodComposer:
Alex WurmanCast:
Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Leslie Bibb, Gary Cole, David Koechner, Amy Adams, William Boyer, Jack McBrayer (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
The fastest man on four wheels, Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. A big, hairy American winning machine, Ricky has everything a dimwitted daredevil could want, a luxurious mansion, a smokin' hot wife and all the fast food he can eat. But Ricky's turbo-charged lifestyle hits an unexpected speed bump when he's bested by flamboyant Euro-idiot Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) and reduced to a fear-ridden wreck. Losing his wife and job to best bud and fellow fool, Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Reilly), Ricky must kick some serious asphalt if he's to get his career back on the track, beat Girard and reclaim his fame and fortune. 'Cause as Ricky Bobby always says, IF YOU AIN'T FIRST, YOU'RE LAST! (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (5)
It feels as if the great Will Ferrell from Anchorman has ran out of gas. All the visual jokes are already in the trailers, the one-liners are minimal (especially the good ones) and the well shot racing scenes are not exactly what I wanted to see. Sacha Baron Cohen can't pull off the film and for John C. Reilly, I hope this is the last such flick of his career. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby had all the makings of a comedy hit, unfortunately, this time, the pieces didn't quite fit together.
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Much as I like Will Ferrell, I’m intrigued to know if the writers really believed that a lone Will, strapped into a car with a helmet on his head (i.e. no longer able to perform his own special type of humor, based on facial expressions, jerky movements and interaction), driving round and round the circuit in a dumb comedy could actually be entertaining. If the answer is yes, then this message is for you: You were seriously wrong.
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Adam McKay is a pretty decent comedy director, and he's nicely assisted by Will Ferrel, who's always there for him. I'm not a fan of NASCAR racing, so this plot didn't interest me much, but I was pleased to see Sacha Baron Cohen as a gay Frenchman. There are some decent lines, but the running time is unnecessarily drawn out for a comedy. 60%.
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This is the first movie starring Will Ferrell that I actually enjoyed. Really! Less than two hours passed incredibly fast, I had a great time and laughed... I even wondered about it after it was over. Of the actors and their characters, I liked Cohen's Frenchman Girard the best, but Ferrell's bumbling racer who either wins or crashes was also very good. Not to mention the other characters, like Ricky's family members or his best friend. The final race is really something - among other things thanks to episodes like an interview with Kenny Rogers, who is not actually Kenny Rogers, or a commercial inserted directly into the crash. Well done!__P.S. I'd make a cougar in the back seat mandatory as of next year.
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In this comedy, I found that I liked Will Ferrell a lot and that he and J.C. Reilly are a great duo. It just works for them here, and even though the film is two hours long, I still enjoyed it. It's driven by a story that is an excellent parody of racing movies, making fun of clichés but building on them. Great characters that have stayed in my memory, and I'm glad I revisited the film. I also liked it the second time.
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