I Like Parentheses (so get used to ‘em)

On Labor Day I fulfilled a promise to my friend Karen to treat her to see Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby aka Will Ferrell’s NASCAR spoof. It was a bit of fun with a plot bolted onto it somewhere in the middle.

That’s not to say I didn’t like the film. It was very funny in parts (and outright ridiculously funny in others), but it just didn’t fire on all cylinders. Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) is a man who was born only to race. His first phrase was “I wanna go fast!” and it was practically the creed he lived by. Fate put him into the seat of a stock car when, working as a pit crew member, his driver decided to enjoy his last-placedness by eating a sandwich, making a phone call, and running a few errands. The man with two first names placed in the race and from that moment on made a name for himself as a very exciting racer who managed to either win or spectacularly crash during every race after that.

John C. Reilly plays his best friend in the whole, wide world Cal and Ricky Bobby’s success makes Cal a driver too. Together they team up and make it so Ricky Bobby win a lot more than he crashes. (Along the way Ricky Bobby marries a woman who is thankfully “over 18″ and has two kids: Walker and Texas Ranger.) Ricky Bobby prays to the baby, infant Jesus (or Hey Zeus as He is known to his friends South of the border) and life is great.

Life’s great until the plot is introduced, that is. A gay, French, Formula “Un” driver named Jean sweeps in and takes the NASCAR world by storm with his amazing driving skills. He also breaks Ricky Bobby’s arm during their first meeting due to Ricky Bobby’s enormous pride not letting him admit he loves crepes (even though Ricky Bobby actually does love those “little pancakes.”

Due to a horrendous wreck and some post-traumatic stress disorder, Ricky Bobby loses his lifestyle. His wife leaves him, his job vanishes, and somehow so does his money.

I won’t spoil the ending (not that it’s shocking or anything), but the story wraps itself up in a manner perhaps worthy of the makers of The 40 Year-old Virgin (who made this film too).

In general, the movie had a lot of little bits that could have easily been strengthened in order to make the movie work better. This was definitely a movie that was a vehicle for a bunch of gags likely brainstormed over a weekend somewhere. Had the makers of the movie actually completed the story arc in a more cohesive manner the comedy would have paid off that much more. They could learn a lot from watching the original The Pink Panther or even Airplane! on how to establish plot and themes without slowing down the hilarity.

It was during the middle 30-40 minutes of the film where things really dragged on (the plot developing into the downfall of Ricky Bobby).

All in all it’s worth renting when it comes out. For some reason I had extremely high hopes for this movie, and was a bit disappointed. I give it 2.5 stars (sadly rounded up to three due to technical limitations of “structured blogging”).