Talladega Nights 2/5 reviewed by Mike
If time is money, then this movie costs a lot more than nine dollars, which, in and of itself is a crime. Of course, with movie prices on the rise again, it's going to take a whole lot to impress me--or maybe I'm just picky. Whatever the case, this movie is yet one more in a long string of Hollwood cash-in generic flicks designed to waste your time and make you leave the theatre slightly less smart than when you came in.
The plot is simple, and if you've seen the trailers, you've pretty much seen the whole film. Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) is a man who is born (literally) for one thing: The need for speed. Through a fluke chance that only happens in movies, he finds himself behind the wheel of a Nascar racer, and quickly makes a name for himself as one of the best, and most reckless drivers around, with the help of his unnassuming idiot best friend (John C. Reilly). Of course we wouldn't have a movie without a terrible downfall to build back up from, and that happens fairly quickly when Ricky gets in a horrible accident trying to win against a new racer, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen--yeah, the 'Ali G' guy) who is a gay frenchman with a really overdone accent. He's also married to a bearded Andy Richter. The accident causes Ricky to loose not only races, but his "smokin' hot" wife and all his cash as well. After a dissapointing reunion with his deadbeat transient father (Gary Cole), Ricky finds the strentgh to have sex with the token nerdy-but-hot chick and get back in the game.
If you've seen any of Ferrell's (or Sandlers, or Farley's, or any old 90s SNL cast member's) movies, you know the schtick: Token idiot guy being so very beyond stupid, gets somehow vindicated by getting the girl and success, etc. etc. There's nothing different here, except a noted attempt to tone down the humor to make it PG13. What made movies like "Wedding Crashers" or "Anchorman" so funny waas the off the wall humor and complete embracing of the 'R' rating. I'm not saying a movie has to be rated R to be funny, but with this kind of humor, if you don't go farther, there's nothing stopping it from being a generic teen sex-joke movie, which is basically what it ends up being. You can almost see on the screen how hard the actors are holding back to keep from being offensive, which is wierd cause there's still a ton of language in this film. All this makes for a really forgettable experience. If I could describe this movie with one word, it would be "boring." I had to fight to pay attention to the film, my mind was wandering away so much.
What saddens me is that this movie has so much opportunity to become a really smart satire, and make comments about american consumerism, stereotyping, and broken family relationships, but in the end, there's nothing that rises above "stupid guys being stupid." It's like "Beavis and Butthead Do Nascar." The film spends the whole time riding the line between PG13 and R, making for a really boring ride. It also rides the line between "serious story" comedy, and "insane completely unrealistic comedy." At times, it looks like this is going to be Anchorman, with News-team gang fights, and that kindof stuff, but then we are treated to long family togetherness sequences--and at one point, an excruciating scene where Ferrell watches sadly as his father walks out on him yet again, while the sad piano music fades up...
There are, however, some genuinely funny moments in the film. I can count them with two hands, but they are there--I did laugh out loud more than a few times, and not all the funny parts were in the trailers. I won't spoil them for you here, though. While most of the actors have well-timed delivery, the chemistry between the characters here isn't nearly as good as it was in Anchorman, although its far from being bad. There's also a lot of respect paid to Nascar and it's fans--this movie doesn't set out to make fun of Nascar, but to praise it, although I think a bit too much. Am I the only southerner who thinks racing is worth making fun of a little bit?
The worst thing about Talladega Nights is the fact that the joke is not on screen, but in the seats. I bet studio executives laugh at every ticket sold, because this movie probably cost nothing to make. There's not one single shot in the film that doesn't have gigantic endorsements covering half the screen. At one point, we are actually treated to a full-length, uninteruppted Applebee's commercial--right in the middle of the movie! I guess moviegoers were complaining so much about the ads before films, that executives got smart and thought they'd just put them right in the middle of the movie instead. This movie is the poster child of generic, cash-cow, summer drivel. Please send Hollywood a message that this junk won't keep selling...
See this movie if:
-You think seeing Ferrell run around in his underwear screaming is still funny.
-You're really, really bored, and this thing has gone to the $1 theatre.
-You watch TV only for the commercials
Don't see this movie if:
-You already own "Wedding Crashers" or "Anchorman." Just pop those in the player instead.
-You like smart satire that makes a good point in a funny way.
-You have anything else to do.
The plot is simple, and if you've seen the trailers, you've pretty much seen the whole film. Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) is a man who is born (literally) for one thing: The need for speed. Through a fluke chance that only happens in movies, he finds himself behind the wheel of a Nascar racer, and quickly makes a name for himself as one of the best, and most reckless drivers around, with the help of his unnassuming idiot best friend (John C. Reilly). Of course we wouldn't have a movie without a terrible downfall to build back up from, and that happens fairly quickly when Ricky gets in a horrible accident trying to win against a new racer, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen--yeah, the 'Ali G' guy) who is a gay frenchman with a really overdone accent. He's also married to a bearded Andy Richter. The accident causes Ricky to loose not only races, but his "smokin' hot" wife and all his cash as well. After a dissapointing reunion with his deadbeat transient father (Gary Cole), Ricky finds the strentgh to have sex with the token nerdy-but-hot chick and get back in the game.
If you've seen any of Ferrell's (or Sandlers, or Farley's, or any old 90s SNL cast member's) movies, you know the schtick: Token idiot guy being so very beyond stupid, gets somehow vindicated by getting the girl and success, etc. etc. There's nothing different here, except a noted attempt to tone down the humor to make it PG13. What made movies like "Wedding Crashers" or "Anchorman" so funny waas the off the wall humor and complete embracing of the 'R' rating. I'm not saying a movie has to be rated R to be funny, but with this kind of humor, if you don't go farther, there's nothing stopping it from being a generic teen sex-joke movie, which is basically what it ends up being. You can almost see on the screen how hard the actors are holding back to keep from being offensive, which is wierd cause there's still a ton of language in this film. All this makes for a really forgettable experience. If I could describe this movie with one word, it would be "boring." I had to fight to pay attention to the film, my mind was wandering away so much.
What saddens me is that this movie has so much opportunity to become a really smart satire, and make comments about american consumerism, stereotyping, and broken family relationships, but in the end, there's nothing that rises above "stupid guys being stupid." It's like "Beavis and Butthead Do Nascar." The film spends the whole time riding the line between PG13 and R, making for a really boring ride. It also rides the line between "serious story" comedy, and "insane completely unrealistic comedy." At times, it looks like this is going to be Anchorman, with News-team gang fights, and that kindof stuff, but then we are treated to long family togetherness sequences--and at one point, an excruciating scene where Ferrell watches sadly as his father walks out on him yet again, while the sad piano music fades up...
There are, however, some genuinely funny moments in the film. I can count them with two hands, but they are there--I did laugh out loud more than a few times, and not all the funny parts were in the trailers. I won't spoil them for you here, though. While most of the actors have well-timed delivery, the chemistry between the characters here isn't nearly as good as it was in Anchorman, although its far from being bad. There's also a lot of respect paid to Nascar and it's fans--this movie doesn't set out to make fun of Nascar, but to praise it, although I think a bit too much. Am I the only southerner who thinks racing is worth making fun of a little bit?
The worst thing about Talladega Nights is the fact that the joke is not on screen, but in the seats. I bet studio executives laugh at every ticket sold, because this movie probably cost nothing to make. There's not one single shot in the film that doesn't have gigantic endorsements covering half the screen. At one point, we are actually treated to a full-length, uninteruppted Applebee's commercial--right in the middle of the movie! I guess moviegoers were complaining so much about the ads before films, that executives got smart and thought they'd just put them right in the middle of the movie instead. This movie is the poster child of generic, cash-cow, summer drivel. Please send Hollywood a message that this junk won't keep selling...
See this movie if:
-You think seeing Ferrell run around in his underwear screaming is still funny.
-You're really, really bored, and this thing has gone to the $1 theatre.
-You watch TV only for the commercials
Don't see this movie if:
-You already own "Wedding Crashers" or "Anchorman." Just pop those in the player instead.
-You like smart satire that makes a good point in a funny way.
-You have anything else to do.
posted by Hankinstien at 10:25 PM
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