Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4444 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-01-15
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Hindi, Italian
• Dubbed in: Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 116 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Reviews
Sweet baby Jesus, we thank you for blessing Will Ferrell and Adam McKay with the talent to create a NASCAR comedy as hilarious as Talladega Nights. The so-called "Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is hardly flawless in fact it's not always firing on all cylinders but with comedy star Ferrell and director McKay still hot from the success of their previous comedy hit Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, most of this 108-minute spoof of oval-track racing is so knee-slappin' funny that you can't help but surrender to the stupidity.

Obviously, Ferrell's the shining star, and his portrayal of lead-footed pit-crew-member-turned-#1 NASCAR champion Ricky "I Wanna Go Fast" Bobby (how can you not love that name?) is spot-on perfect, righteously spoofing the entirety of NASCAR culture without insulting its oft-ridiculed roots in redneck bootlegging of a bygone era. You could even argue that Talladega Nights is truer to NASCAR than Tom Cruise's Days of Thunder, and it's certainly more entertaining, especially when you add John C. Reilly as Ricky's life-long pal, teammate, and eventual rival Cal Naughton, Jr. (together they're nicknamed "Shake 'n Bake"), and Sacha Baron Cohen (from Da Ali G Show and Borat) as gay French "Formula Un" driver-turned NASCAR rival Jean Girrard, to a stellar cast including Molly Shannon, Greg Germann, Amy Adams and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Sure, it's mostly a showcase for Ferrell's loud, over-the-top antics and nonsensical non sequiturs (like cameo appearances by Elvis Costello and Mos Def), but with Ferrell behind the wheel, Talladega Nights rolls into victory lane with fuel to spare, and there's one final bit of comedy (with a tip of the hat to William Faulkner) for those who sit through the credits. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
Comic sensation Will Ferrell (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, ANCHORMAN) plays Ricky Bobby, a figure who is at once laughably ridiculous, infuriating, and loveable. Ricky Bobby, with his bleached-blonde wife, cute sons Walker and Texas Ranger, and dim sidekick Cal (award-winning actor John C. Reilly, flexing his considerable comedic muscle), has got it made. He is NASCAR's most popular driver, and nearly every aspect of his life is endorsed by a recognisable product. Yet his racetrack kingdom is not unshakeable: two formidable opponents, his unpleasable father, Reese (Gary Cole), and a flashy new opponent, the openly gay French import Jean (played by a hilarious Sasha Baron Cohen, known to millions as Borat and Ali G), threaten to hijack his crown and expose his vulnerabilities. Though it is one of America's most popular sporting events, the association of NASCAR with uneducated, backwards rednecks seems cemented into the American consciousness. So the brilliant comedy TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY, is not just a side-splitting series of slapstick pratfalls and over-the-top accents, but a lens into an important part of American culture. Though many of the jokes are easy laughs (having Ferrell run around shirtless is a guaranteed guffaw-fest), the script (co-written by Farrell and Adam McKay) is nuanced and intelligent, lending its characters much more sympathy and complexity than dumber comedies are want to do. Every performer--from Ferrell to Amy Adams (as Susan, Bobby's fawning assistant)--tackles his or her part with joy and relish. A hilarious humdinger of a movie with smarts and savvy, TALLADEGA NIGHTS ensures Ferrell's position as one of comedy's shining talents.

Customer Reviews

Outrageously silly but VERY smart
One of the best spoof movies I've ever seen. Will Ferrell's shallow good ole boy Ricky Bobby is a feckless idiot who rises from tyre changer in a no-hope NASCAR team to become the star driver of the circuit. Obsessed with winning after a throwaway comment by his deadbeat racer dad (brilliantly played by Gary Cole), and ignorant of his shallow, mutually empty relationships with his groupie wife, horrendous kids (named Walker and Texas Ranger) and equally thick best friend (John C Reilly), he finally hits the proverbial brick wall in the shape of Sacha Baron Cohen's star turn as Formula 1 Frenchman Jean Girard. Thus begins a slow rebuilding of his life and career - this time the "right" way... sort of!

Subtly sending up every "serious" film of this type (mainly Days of Thunder, Top Gun etc) and the real-life downhome ignorance of the redneck NASCAR following, this not only delivers on the gags (this film is truly hilarious) it also is remarkably smart at portraying the emptiness of the blue-collar sports star's life when faced with enormous fortune, media coverage and hero worship, and the fickle desertion of the hero when he hits skid row.

It is a spoof movie, but not in the sense of the Airplane or Scary Movie series - the movie has a real warmth and actually does tell a real human story in amongst the endless side-splitting gags. It also avoids the kind of schmaltzy American syrup-filled scenes of such films by throwing in the unexpected at each turn.

Worth seeing for Sacha Baron Cohen's performance alone, and Ricky Bobby's "grace" before their Pizza Hut and KFC dinner. If you're in the right mood this will have you crying!

Good because its different
I guess I was slightly suprised, like many other viewers it would appear, that this film has a slightly different approach to what we expect from Will Ferrell and the man himself, Borat. Based upon the NASCAR series of racing, the film is all in all, "good". Sacha Baron Cohen ('Borat') plays probably the funniest part of the film, as a gay French racing driver with possibly the funniest French accent i've heard to date. Will Ferrell meanwhile plays the lead role as a NASCAR driver who was brought up by his wacky dad to believe in the true to life American of "winning is the only option" (Lombardian Ethic) and so, as a grown man, he enjoys the highs of winnining his races while making millions, and sharing his house with the blonde bimbo, and spoilt children, who totally crack me up.
The reason this film has had mixed reviews is likely to be down to the content. Sometimes, jokes can maybe go on a bit too long, or the films breaks on long scenes, and then quickly move onto a different subject, just little things really. I think its also hard to establish what type of audience this is for, which is probably why people like it or hate it, as just like the film Zoolander, you can take it, or you can't.
But in my personal opinion, this is an entertaining film that has it moments, and should give you some good laughs.

Not a Will Ferrell fan....
I must admit that I have not liked many and when I say many, I mean any, Will Ferrell films, but I watched this film on a flight recently and this has to be one of my films of the year. You could tell the other people on the flight who were also watching, this as they also had tears running down their faces.

As the other reviews have said, very clever humour and will be a film I will definately watch again and again.

Top tip on how to get over your fear of driving...priceless