Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

ByAug 04, 2006 7:00 AMTags
And the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in a feature film goes to John C. Reilly, Gary Cole and...Leslie Bibb! Yep, it's a Talladega three-way! Okay, so these folks probably won't even get nominated, but hot damn, they should. Will Ferrell shines as ego-driven, fast-driving, endorsement-lovin' Nascar driver/buffoon Ricky Bobby--duh. But cowriter/director Adam McKay's Nights only seems like a one-man show.
See, Ricky wants to go so fast because his daddy (Cole) didn't love him. And when he gets good at going fast, he scores a spark plug of a wife (Bibb, who channels Holly Hunter in Raising Arizona). All the while, his best friend and second banana racing teammate Cal (Reilly) is there for him--to a fault. This ain't no Anchorman-style Ferrell vehicle, thank gawd. Sure, the plot gets a little loose, particularly in the middle, but the French/gay jokes and Applebee's references are very distracting. Yep, we'll take a nice ol' plate of KFC and some Nascar on TV over a silly Oscar any day of the week.
--Caroline Kepnes