Written by James M. Tate / 2/19/2016 / No comments / john c. reilly , sacha baron cohen , will ferrell , zeroes
TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY
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year: 2006 cast: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Amy Adams, Leslie Bibb |
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Will Ferrell |
Often being extremely difficult to distinguish one vehicle from the other, the rip-roaring direction by Adam McKay deserves some credit, because you'll always be completely aware of not only who's behind the wheel, but what place they're in: those racers being Will Ferrell's title character, raised without a father, who had only given him one line of advice on being fast and not losing; his best friend John C. Reilly as contented underdog Cal Naughton; or the stock villain played by BORAT icon Sacha Baron Cohen, whose openly gay character Jean Girard hardly steals the show, but his formidable confidence puts our dimwitted and (for no reason) overly-religious-at-dinner Bobby out of the racing game, where some of the, well, um, "deeper" scenes occur. Hitting rock-bottom, Ferrell seems more than a clown who lost everything.
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as Ricky Bobby |
And although Ricky's father, played by the otherwise brilliant character-actor Gary Cole, just seems too... skinny or something... to be such an unbreakable, womanizing, boozing stud... their chemistry works in an intentionally rushed student/mentor collaboration that makes NIGHTS feel a lot shorter than its almost two-hour run (or in this case, drive) time. So if saying "It could have been a lot worse" makes for a semi-good review, then there you have it. For when expecting pure hell and instead semi-enjoying a time-filling day in purgatory, there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and that's not so bad.
RATING: ***
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