Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Unrated and Uncut)

Watched this as a teenager thinking it was the pinnacle of comedy—and now I’ve watched it again with my own kids, who now believe dinner should start with prayer to Baby Jesus and end in a race around the house in underwear. Still hilarious. Still chaotic. Still makes me crave a Wonder Bread sandwich and the sweet sound of Shake & Bake. It’s dumb. It’s brilliant. It’s America in movie form. I laughed, they laughed, even the dog was confused. A generational masterpiece.

This is one of my all time favorite movies it’s hilarious!!

According to my husband, son and daughter, this movie is legendary. Hilarious! They quote from it far too often for my taste, but hey, it's something the three of them agree on, so I'll just roll my eyes and move on. I'm giving it five stars not because I love, but because they do.

It was a great movie and funny !

“If you ain’t first…You’re last!!!”

First, comments on the movie: 5 stars for this laugh fest.I saw this movie (with a good friend) when it was first released in theatres and we both laughed ourselves silly at the half-packed matinee showing at the movie house. If you are a fan of NASCAR at all, and/or if your neck might be a shade of red, you'll get this movie and be laughing throughout.A dinner blessing/prayer that includes thanking the various sponsors, and a windshield laden with a sponsor message show the extents to which Ricky Bobby will go to get a buck from a sponsor. None of which is far from the truth of the current state of NASCAR.Will Ferrell plays the son of race car driver Reese Bobby. The elder Bobby abandon his son and his mother years before, basically leaving his son with but a memory of his father mumbling something along the lines of "if you ain't first, you're last." Words that young Ricky remembered forever.Talladega Nights skewers NASCAR, NASCAR drivers, the partnerships that the driving teams make, and everything surrounding NASCAR, and does a great job at all of the above. It's funny from start to finish, without being too crude along the way.Now, on the quality of the high-def on the Blu-ray version of this movie: shame, shame, shame on Sony for such a disappointing outcome with this disc. Blu-ray is better than this. Far better than this. The original movie (on theatre screens) was better than this. The video quality here -- where it should have been immediately impressive -- just isn't. It's not horrible, but just doesn't seem like it's high def. Instead it seems like someone forgot to remove or apply the correct filters. Perhaps they were laughing too hard at the movie and forgot to hit the right switch while it was being manufactured, but it is not up to the standards one should expect of the Blu-ray format.Worse yet is that in the extras on the disc the video quality is often times better (far better) than that of the movie. That is something that one would never expect of a high-def disc.3 stars (at best) for the video quality here. Actually that's probably being generous.Hopefully Sony will make another attempt at getting the video of this movie right and perhaps release a special edition version, or deluxe version in the future. As much as I hate paying twice for the same content, I'd probably have to get it as I do love the movie.

That subject line throw you off? Well, good, because that was my intention...makes this more fun to write...In my opinion, the sport of NASCAR was best summed up by comedian Jeff Dunham's puppet, Sweet Daddy D, who said the following:"Look, they're making a left turn. Oh, they're making another left turn. Oh, they're making another left turn. I wonder what's gonna happen next."This film was pitched to the studios with the single line "Six words: Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver." Personally, I don't think more needs to be said. One can always rely on Mr. Ferrell's ability to come up with some crazy line and/or antic on the spot, so there's certainly never a dull moment when you watch Ricky Bobby. Jane Lynch was also funny as his mother. And having Amy Adams in the film is certainly always a bonus in my book...perhaps I could complain that she didn't get more screen time, but that's just me. And Michael Clark Duncan proves that he has left this world way too soon with his role as Ricky Bobby's friend and the lead of his pit crew. And finally, I've never been a real fan of Sacha Baron Cohen, but his performance as French gay Formula One racer Jean Girard showed us something too often overlooked in sports movies...the ability of opponents to be polite to one another outside of competition instead of letting their rivalry consume every bit of their lives. Yes, Ricky wanted to beat Girard again, but the majority of this film revolved around him facing his fears and learning to race again, so one (like me) can say that the rivalry between these two men came second to that, making my previous point valid. Finally, John C. Reilly, a man who can earn an Academy Award nomination and give a heart-filled performance in a film like this, serves as Ricky Bobby's best friend, even if that friendship is strained at times. Leslie Bibb and Gary Cole round out this great cast as Ricky's gold-digging hot wife and Ricky's absent, alcoholic father. And, to end this review, I will say that this movie scored points by not having the stereotypical ending of sports movies in which the underdog overcomes all odds to emerge as the champion. Sure, Ricky Bobby comes out on top, but he gets a lot of better things than just a trophy or medal.

Still hesitant about purchasing Talladega Nights? Google up the “Saying Grace” scene. Farrell at his Rated R best. If you do not chuckle at anything in that five minutes then don’t bother- and tbh get yourself checked lol! Not for little ones. See also: Dodgeball, Role Models, 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Wedding Crashers.