Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 8/6/06 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Directed by Adam McKay and written by McKay and Will Ferrell, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is about NASCAR driver whose life of winning and having everything is ruined by the arrival of a Formula One Frenchman who destroys Ricky Bobby's world as it would take those who really care for him to get him back on top. The film is another exploration of a buffoon who is forced to deal with reality as well as he also deals with abandonment issues with his father as Will Ferrell plays the titular character. Also starring John C. Reilly, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, Sacha Baron Cohen, Andy Richter, Leslie Bibb, David Koechner, Molly Shannon, Pat Hingle, Greg Germann, and Michael Clarke Duncan. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a hilarious comedy from Adam McKay.

The film is a simple story about a man who always wanted to be a NASCAR racer after his father Reese (Gary Cole) gave him advice when he showed up one day at school for career day. For Ricky Bobby, he would take his father's advice where he would become the king of NASCAR while having his friend Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly) be his racing partner as they become the duo known as "Shake N' Bake". With lots of money, the best pit crew ever, a hot wife named Carley (Leslie Bibb) and two kids in Walker (Huston Tumlin) and Texas Ranger (Grayson Russell), Ricky seems to have it all. Yet, issues with his fathers and the arrival of former French Formula-One racer Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) would ruin things for Ricky until his father and a few others would help Ricky regain his confidence. It's a film that doesn't have much of a plot but it does have a lot of silliness as well as a bit of satire into the world of NASCAR.

What makes Talladega Nights appealing is that the same brand of humor that was in Anchorman is that director Adam McKay and co-writer Will Ferrell understands what is funny. While they chose to not bring in a very strong plot that is predictable to more cynical audiences. McKay and Ferrell just go for the comedy and let the story win its audience thanks to an abundance of great characters and a structure to the screenplay that is very well-handled in its simplicity. The comedy however, is more improvised while the scripted moments works to convey the story. The result is that McKay manages to bring enough humor to balance some of the more hearty moments concerning Ricky's abandonment issues with his father. Plus, McKay's vision of NASCAR isn't to satirize or to give scope to its culture other than the fact that it's an event many people including families love to go to. To see cars race against each other despite some of its violent moments involving crashes.

Helping McKay in his extraordinary vision is cinematographer Oliver Wood who brings some wonderful coloring to the film's exteriors, notably the NASCAR scenes while giving the film a real sense of style and intensity to the race scenes. Production designer Clayton Hartley and art director Virginia L. Randolph do great work of exploring the world of NASCAR with its array of bars, Southern upper-class and lower-class homes, and most of all, the location of Applebee's. Costume designer Susan Matheson does great work in the look of the drivers like Ricky's Wonderbread jumpsuit, Cal's Old Spice suit, and Jean's Pierre suit. Editor Brent White brings a wonderful pace and rhythm to the editing, especially when timing its comedic moments that allows the audience to savor a funny moment and have the time to laugh. Sound editor George H. Anderson also does great work in conveying the loud atmosphere that is NASCAR.

The film's music is filled with an array of country, Southern-style music, and metal courtesy of composers Anthony Short and Alex Wurman. The soundtrack is a mix of stuff like Monster Magnet, AC/DC, Buckcherry, Journey, Pat Benetar, and a lot of classic rock. Overall, it's a fine soundtrack while some songs, notably a Pat Benetar will never be the same once they're heard. I should also note that during the crazy credits, watch out for John C. Reilly and notably, Michael Clarke Duncan doing some singing.

Finally, there is the film's cast which is way bigger and funnier cast than the people Ferrell and McKay assembled for Anchorman. With cameos from the like of several NASCAR-related broadcasters plus NASCAR drivers like Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and hilarious small performances from Molly Shannon as Larry's drunk wife, Andy Richter as Jean's dog-trainer husband Gregory, director Adam McKay as the driver Ricky replaces, Jason Davis as a Waffle House manager in the career-day scene, and unspoken cameos from Elvis Costello and Mos Def. Ferrell/McKay regular David Koechner doesn't get much to do as one of the pit crew yet manages to make a memorable, funny small appearance as does Ian Roberts and Jack McBrayer who say some funny lines. Pat Hingle is also good as the prideful Dennit while Jake Johnson and Luke Bigham are excellent as the young Ricky and Austin Crimm as the young Cal.

Houston Tumlin and Grayson Russell as Walker and Texas Rangers are very funny boys as they're given some of the film's funniest and filthiest lines as you just can't beat two little boys saying mean things about their grandfather. Greg Germann is also good as the corporate, heartless Larry who thinks nothing about making money while manipulating the minds of Cal and Carley for his own gain. Leslie Bibb has some funny moments as Carley while doing some fine work as the wife who cares about nothing but being rich and having it all while looking hot. Fresh off her Oscar-nominated performance in Junebug, Amy Adams is even hotter, I mean hot like FIRE-HOT! as the sweet, caring assistant Susan. Though Adams doesn't appear much, her performance is great, notably in the third act as she proves her comedic talents while looking very hot as she does a great job while leaving the audience wanting more of her.

Jane Lynch is very funny as the supportive, moralistic Lucy Bobby who is the perfect Southern mama with a bit of an eccentric side while she's the kind of mama you don't mess with. Lynch is memorable in every scene she's in while being very funny. Gary Cole is extremely funny as the drunkard, wild, and less moralistic Reese who may not be a great father or the role model that Ricky needed. Yet, Cole makes him interesting and very funny as a man who doesn't know how to be a dad yet becomes a great mentor for Ricky when he's down. Michael Clarke Duncan has a small role yet he's great in his role as the cautious, caring Lucius while delivering some of the film's funnier moments, notably in the final credits which you have to hear and see to believe. Sacha Baron Cohen, known to people as Ali G or Borat, gives one of the most hysterical and freakiest performances on camera. Cohen does a great, slimy French accent who has a taste for jazz, cappuccinos, books, and saying Ricky's name as "Y-ree-kee Boo-bee" while providing the right kind of match that Ferrell needed as the scenes they have are gold.

Ok, the Best Supporting Actor of the Year. Hands-down goes to John C. Reilly, who some say is this generation's Gene Hackman. Well, like Hackman, Reilly can't suck. Reilly is the perfect sidekick that Ferrell needed by just being very dim-witted, supportive, and deliver some of the film's funniest, improvisational one-liners while having some great chemistry with Ferrell. Reilly really brings a lot of the comedy and buddy-aspects of the film as it's one of his best performances since Reilly gives depths and laughs to a character like Cal Naughton, Jr. as Reilly is also riding high in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion. Will Ferrell delivers in what is sure to be, another classic performance as Ricky Bobby. Ferrell is very good when he's playing dumb or ignorant while he's so great whenever he's in a desperate moment like running in his underwear, saying Grace to the Baby Jesus, crying about his daddy, or just racing. Ferrell is comic gold as he just delivers a performance that is magnificent and a character that is complex like Ricky Bobby.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a phenomenal comedy from Adam McKay with another winning performance from Will Ferrell. Along with some strong supporting work from John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Amy Adams, and Michael Clarke Duncan, it's a film that definitely adds to the brilliance of the Ferrell-McKay collaboration. Even where it gets a chance to poke fun at winners while bringing in some bawdy humor that people can enjoy. In the end, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a marvelous film from Adam McKay.

Adam McKay Films: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - Step Brothers - The Other Guys - Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - The Big Short - (Backseat) - The Auteurs #63: Adam McKay

© thevoid99 2014

Wreck-It Ralph

Directed by Rich Moore and screenplay by Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee from a story by Moore, Johnston, and Jim Reardon with additional contributions by John C. Reilly, Sam J. Levine, and Jared Stern, Wreck-It Ralph is the story of a titular video game bad guy character who decides he doesn’t want to be the bad guy anymore by leaving his game in the hopes he can get a medal and earn the respect of the other characters from his game. The film explores the world of the arcade video games from the early 80s 8-bit games to the games of the 21st Century where a bad guy becomes the hero as he finds himself in different games and befriending a character who is considered a glitch. Featuring the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Mindy Kaling, Joe Lo Truglio, Dennis Haysbert, and Ed O’Neill. Wreck-It Ralph is a sensational and astonishing film from Rich Moore.

The film is about the titular bad guy (John C. Reilly) whose job in the video game Fix-It-Felix Jr. as all he does is wreck a building while the game’s titular character (Jack McBrayer) fixes it. Ralph does the job for 30 years but feels unappreciated as he decides he doesn’t want to be the bad guy anymore and earn a medal in the hopes he can get respected. When Felix learns that Ralph went to a shooting game called Hero’s Duty to get a medal, he tries to stop him but other circumstances lands Ralph in the candy-based racing game Sugar Rush where he meets and help a young girl named Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) to be in the race despite the fact that she’s a glitch. Yet, there’s something that Ralph had brought that would threaten not just the game but also all of the games in the arcade as he and Felix have to stop it.

The film’s screenplay does have this traditional structure where the first act is about Ralph leaving Fix-It-Felix Jr. after feeling unappreciated by other characters in the game as he meets a character from Hero’s Duty where he learns about getting a medal until an encounter with a cy-bug causes trouble. When Ralph finds himself at Sugar Rush, he meets Vanellope who is this character that is a glitch as he is annoyed by her at first yet decides to help her so he can get his medal and she can become a character in the game. Still, Ralph and Vanellope have to deal with the character King Candy (Alan Tudyk) who believes that if Vanellope becomes part of the game. She will ruin it because she is a glitch and the game will be unplugged leaving all of the characters homeless like another legendary game character in Q*bert and his fellow villains.

The script succeeds in giving characters motivations and such to drive the story where Felix teams with Hero’s Duty character Sgt. Calhoun (Jane Lynch) to find Ralph as well as cy-bug that had entered Sugar Rush as it’s a creature that becomes whatever it eats and create chaos until someone lights a beacon to get rid of them. Felix falls for Sgt. Calhoun as he also tells her about a character named Turbo who was this popular racing game character who got jealous when a new racing game emerged where he hacked into the game and put that and his own game out of commission which adds to Felix’s motivation to get Ralph back in their game or they will be unplugged.

Rich Moore’s direction is dazzling not just in the way he presents the world of the arcade games but also for the fact that it’s set in an arcade where many characters meet at the plugging board to interact and be at other games after closing time at the arcade. Even the games themselves are set in a world that is unique where characters are seen drinking at Tapper’s where on the screen, some of the game characters are shown in high-definition or in 8-bit animated style. With the help of supervising animator Doug Bennett, Moore’s direction has these very broad and sprawling images where the animation also helps out in the look of the characters as Tapper and most of the minor characters in Fix-It-Felix Jr. all have this jerky look to their movements since they’re programmed in an 8-bit animated style.

The animation also features a lot of video game references where there’s numerous cameos from many great characters in the film such as an early scene where Ralph attends a video-game bad guys anonymous meeting with villains from Pac Man, Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros., and Sonic the Hedgehog as well as many others. It adds to this very unique world that is very appealing to audiences that grew up playing video games as well as the evolution of video games from 8-bit to high-definition animation. Overall, Moore creates a truly exhilarating and imaginative film about a bad guy’s desire to be good and do good in the world of video games.

Editor Tim Mertens does brilliant work with the editing with its use of stylish rhythmic cuts as well as play into the energy of the action and humor that occurs in the film. Art director Ian Gooding does amazing work with the look of video game world from the sugary-confection of Sugar Rush to the dark world of Hero‘s Duty. Sound designer Gary Rydstrom and sound editors Frank E. Eulner and Marshall Winn do fantastic work with the sound with the way some characters move to the sound effects that is used in the games that the characters go to. The film’s music by Henry Jackman is superb for its mixture of orchestral-based music to play into the action along with some electronic and 8-bit music to help create that world of the video games while the soundtrack features contributions from Rhianna, Skrillex (who makes a cameo in the film), Owl City, Kool & the Gang, AKB48, and the video game novelty duo Buckner and Garcia doing the film’s theme song.

The voice casting by Jamie Sparer Roberts is incredible for the voice ensemble that was used as it features some notable voice work from Edie McClurg, Rachael Harris, and Raymond Persi as characters from Fix-It-Felix Jr. with Persi also voicing a zombie at the Bad-Anon meeting. Other noteworthy small voice roles include contributions from director Rich Moore as King Candy’s assistant Sour Bill/Zangief from Street Fighter, Horatio Sanz and Adam Carolla as the Sugar Rush police officers, Joe Lo Truglio as the drunk Hero’s Duty soldier Ralph meets at Tapper’s, Dennis Haysbert as the general at Hero’s Duty, Mindy Kaling as the Sugar Rush racer Taffy Muttonfudge, and Ed O’ Neill as the arcade owner Mr. Litwak whose character is sort of based on the Twin Galaxies arcade founder Walter Day.

Alan Tudyk is excellent as the Sugar Rush ruler King Candy who tries to get rid of Vanellope in the hopes that she doesn’t ruin the game while there’s an added layer to the character that makes him far more intriguing. Jane Lynch is fantastic as Sgt. Calhoun as a no-nonsense bug killer who helps Felix find Ralph and the cy-bug that entered Sugar Rush as she is baffled by Felix’s attraction towards her. Jack McBrayer is brilliant as Fix-It-Felix Jr. as a game hero who fixes everything with his magical hammer as he tries to find Ralph and get him back or else he and the other characters in the game become homeless.

Sarah Silverman is amazing as Vanellope Von Schweetz as this glitchy character who just wants to be in the race as she befriends Ralph where Silverman adds an energy to the character. Finally, there’s John C. Reilly in a remarkable performance as the film’s titular character where he brings that sense of humility and determination to his character making it one of Reilly’s best performance that is crucial to making Ralph a very unforgettable character.

Wreck-It Ralph is a phenomenal film from Rich Moore and Disney Animation. Featuring some dazzling visuals, a superb music soundtrack, and a brilliant voice cast, the film manages to do more than just be a kid’s film as it appeals to gamers as well. Largely as it features the world of the arcade as well as the different kinds of video games that has endured for more than 30 years. In the end, Wreck-It Ralph is a spectacular film from Rich Moore.

© thevoid99 2013