Saturday, August 05, 2006

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby




If you live anywhere in Central Alabama and probably Birmingham too, you’ve seen the “You’ll be grinnin’ when you buy from McKinnon” ads on t.v. You know. It’s the “where’s the peach?” ad with the little red-headed kid hawking the great deals on Toyotas in Clanton. Well, low and behold this little kid nearly steals the show in “Talladega Nights.”

We saw the movie tonight at the Rave, and there was Grayson (Russell) signing autographs in the lobby like a big star. He plays one of Ricky Bobby’s potty-mouthed sons, Texas Ranger (the other one is Walker). The movie is terrific fun. There are some good actors (John C. Reilly) and some veteran performers (Gary Cole is great as the good-for-nothing dad) and several cameos (Andy Richtor for one). Will Ferrell shines and the writing is smart and clever.

A. O. Scott in the NY Times wrote, “As a cultural artifact, “Talladega Nights” is both completely phony and, therefore, utterly authentic. Or, to put it differently: this movie is the real thing. It’s finger lickin’ good. It’s eatin’ good in the neighborhood. It’s the King of Beers. It’s Wonder Bread.”

2 comments:

Rosemary said...

We hadn't planned on seeing the movie, because we're not into NASCAR, but you have peeked my curiousity. I've lived in central Alabama all my life, and everything you say really rings true to me. I'm enjoyed reading your posts, and look forward to reading what you have to say in the future.

I’d like to invite you to join our family friendly BLOG VILLAGE TopList. We have over 145 members, and we’re striving for a diverse group of blogs. I think your blog would be a great addition.

You can find out more about it at the Blog Village blog.

PS: Dana from Southern Gal Goes North sent me here by way of her latest post.

Sheila said...

Thanks dirty butter. I'm interested in Blog Village and will see about how to join. I'm just getting my feet wet and it takes me longer since I've never done this sort of thing before.

As for Talladega Nights. We are about as far from Nascar as the moon, but I loved this movie and I don't love Will Ferrell. Language is crude though and not suitable for kids who don't need a script for sassiness anyway.