{"id":971,"date":"2008-08-24T18:51:06","date_gmt":"2008-08-24T22:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=971"},"modified":"2022-10-14T16:50:33","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T20:50:33","slug":"talladega-nights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/talladega-nights\/","title":{"rendered":"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby fails to amuse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What was I thinking when I rented this turd? Oh yeah, that Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby<\/em> might be a funny, entertaining diversion. One can’t always watch grim tales of abortion in Communist Romania<\/a> or the death of a small town’s entire generation of children<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had long since tired of Will Ferrell, once a treasure on the Saturday Night Live<\/em> cast, but long since devolved into a movie factory that produces mostly crassness for crassness’ sake. But I had heard Talladega Nights also featured good turns from Molly Shannon, Amy Adams, and Sasha Baron Cohen, and I had also recently enjoyed John C. Reilly in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story<\/em><\/a>. But all fail to amuse here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Will
Will Ferrell does a pretty good impression of my unsmiling face while watching Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The ensemble obviously improvised whole chunks of the movie, but not really to its benefit. I counted only two bits that made me laugh: Bobby extemporizes the commercial endorsement “If you don’t chew Big Red, *BLEEP* you!” (a line so aggressively stupid I laughed on impulse), and later, his poncy French rival Jean Girard (Cohen) reveals his corporate sponsor, Perrier. These two gags should make it clear that although Talledega Nights<\/em> is not the first comedy to parody extreme product placement, it does drive it to a heretofore unexplored new level of absurdity. Finally, it dispenses with its relative subtleties altogether and simply cuts to an actual Applebee’s commercial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What was I thinking when I rented this turd? Oh yeah, that Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby might be a funny, entertaining diversion. One can’t always watch grim tales of abortion in Communist Romania or the death of a small town’s entire generation of children. I had long since tired of Will Ferrell, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2],"tags":[150,77,147,146,149,148,151,145],"class_list":["post-971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-0-stars","category-movies","tag-amy-adams","tag-comedy","tag-farce","tag-john-c-reilly","tag-molly-shannon","tag-nascar","tag-sasha-baron-cohen","tag-will-ferrell"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/talladega-nights-feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-fF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":846,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/walk-hard\/","url_meta":{"origin":971,"position":0},"title":"Jake Kasdan spoofs the musical biopic in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This blogger finds most so-called biopics wanting. The two- to three-hour feature film format is more akin to an essay or short story than a book, and as such is ill-equipped to sum up the entire life of a human being in more than a string of highlights. Yet studios\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/walk-hard-dewey-cox-45.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/walk-hard-dewey-cox-45.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/walk-hard-dewey-cox-45.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/walk-hard-dewey-cox-45.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/walk-hard-dewey-cox-45.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":705,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/year-of-the-dog\/","url_meta":{"origin":971,"position":1},"title":"You can love your pets but not LOVE your pets in Mike White’s Year of the Dog","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Netflix queue is, by its nature, the opposite of the instant gratification of a rental store. You add movies you think you might want to see some day, then sit back and wait for them to arrive in an order decided by computer, according to factors and algorithms outside\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/year-of-the-dog-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/year-of-the-dog-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/year-of-the-dog-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/year-of-the-dog-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/year-of-the-dog-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":981,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/harold-kumar-escape-from-guantanamo-bay\/","url_meta":{"origin":971,"position":2},"title":"H&K drop LSD with NPH in Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"On the way to a hoped-for idyll in their spiritual home Amsterdam, our two beloved stoners Harold and Kumar take unintended detours through Cuba (as collateral damage in the War on Terror), Florida (where they drop trou' for a \"bottomless\" party), Alabama (rudely interrupting a Klu Klux Klan klatsch), and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1 Star"","block_context":{"text":"1 Star","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/1-star\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":747,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street\/","url_meta":{"origin":971,"position":3},"title":"Oi t’ink Tim Burton’s up to summat in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"April 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Anyone who's ever had the misfortune of a conversation about movies with this blogger is no doubt aware that I like musicals about as much as I like biopics. That is to say, not at all. I do, however, love Tim Burton, and count Ed Wood among my personal favorite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/sweeney-todd-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/sweeney-todd-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/sweeney-todd-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/sweeney-todd-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/sweeney-todd-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":931,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-adventures-of-baron-munchausen\/","url_meta":{"origin":971,"position":4},"title":"Terry Gilliam throws the budget overboard in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Terry Gilliam's mad, brilliant yarn The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a strongly anti-war fable to which every kid (and adult!) ought to be exposed. Like the best of its kind (including Ratatouille and Gilliam's own Time Bandits), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen works on multiple levels and is accessible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Adventures of Baron Munchausen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4136,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/songs-that-broke-my-heart-hallelujah-john-cale\/","url_meta":{"origin":971,"position":5},"title":"Songs That Broke My Heart: Hallelujah by John Cale","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Conventional wisdom will tell you nobody did Leonard Cohen's \"Hallelujah\" better than Jeff Buckley. The few who disagree are likely of the opinion that nothing beats the original. Here's a third opinion: the person who transformed Cohen's song into the modern standard it is today was John Cale. As I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John Cale","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/john-cale.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/john-cale.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/john-cale.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/john-cale.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/john-cale.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=971"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6384,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions\/6384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}