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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Releasing

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby reviews


6.1

based on 33 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 183 votes
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FILM:

Anchorman

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language, drug references and brief comic violence

Starring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, and Amy Adams

The team behind "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" turns their focus to the world of NASCAR.

GENRE(S):	Action \| Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Will Ferrell Adam McKay
DIRECTED BY:	Adam McKay
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: December 12, 2006 Theatrical: August 4, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	107 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It is Ferrell's best movie and the summer's funniest comedy so far.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Will Ferrell does chicken-fried comedy right: with crackpot discipline and stripped-to-the-beer-belly courage.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Talladega Nights may be brash, unbridled, even unhinged, but its cornpone humor is rich in parody, and its craftsmanship is superb -- smart writing, shrewd direction, precisely calibrated performances (whether the calibration calls for delicacy or broad-gauge burlesque), inventive language, inspired silliness and all-but-flawless timing.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Not just the funniest but the smartest comedy around by a mile.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Reilly can play nuts, too, and in a lower gear that reins Ferrell in. They're a great team.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

The British star of "Ali G" fame plays Ricky Bobby's arch-nemesis. His name: Jean Girard. His provenance: France. His sponsor: Perrier. Speaking through a set of nasty-looking, tightly clenched teeth in the faux-est of faux French accents, Cohen is hilarious.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Like "Anchorman," the secret to the inspired absurdity of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is in the improv.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

We are treated to the riotous, almost David Lynchian moment in which Ferrell runs around a motorway in his undies screaming that he's on fire. He's not. Actually, come to think of it: He is.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

This is a decidedly blue-state take on a red-state phenomenon.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The races are scorchingly shot, and they lend the movie a zest.

New York Post Kyle Smith

For the first half-hour or so, this thing works like white lightning.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

Those who appreciate Ferrell's sense of humor will be utterly entertained by his efforts to kick it into high gear.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Unlike many other purveyors of hip comedy, they're consistently clever without being contemptuous of their audience.

Slate Dana Stevens

As good as a summer comedy about NASCAR has any right to be, with fine actors tucked into every nook and cranny.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

An affable entertainment, both a celebration and a satire of lowbrow pleasures.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A bit of a mess, but it is a genial mess, and one that will make you laugh. Which is the whole idea.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

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.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

From its pitch-perfect title through just about every detail, this sendup of sports-triumph movies maintains the right parodic pitch, if not always the highest mph on the laugh speedometer.

Variety Robert Koehler

Simultaneously teasing and loving a subject doesn't make for easy comedy, but writer-star Will Ferrell and director/co-writer Adam McKay pull it off with good-ol'-boy good nature in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Village Voice Robert Wilonsky

Ferrell reminds the audience of why he matters: because he's the loudest, driest, and most fearless comic actor working.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

When the crazy comes, it's pretty good crazy. Ferrell is in full-on brazen redneck mode, doing a variation on his "Saturday Night Live" George W. Bush impression.

Austin Chronicle Toddy Burton

Silly, inconsistent, and completely frivolous, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby also happens to be one of the funniest movies this side of 2006.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

When Cohen and Ferrell are eyeing each other, you never saw a loopier pair.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The laughs come and go, but Ferrell makes NASCAR his bitch funny. Funnier. And more fun. And then the fun skids to a stop. You know how it goes: Plot gets in the way.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Ferrell's shtick never grows tiresome, because it's constantly changing.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Mainly, though, it's the performers who are having the last laugh.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

They've interspersed laugh-out-loud segments with dry, repetitive material.

Washington Post Teresa Wiltz

Comedy, of course, is a complicated dance between rhythm and timing, but Talladega Nights drags where it should be crackling and popping.

Premiere Nicole Schmuelian

So if you like Ferrell or Cohen, go ahead buy some popcorn, check your brain at the door, and you will laugh.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Lacks the guts of genuine satire.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

You laugh a few times but, in the end, you wonder why you bothered.

Empire Dan Jolin

On the Ferrellometer, Talladega Nights sits just above "Kicking & Screaming," when it should be redlining it up there with "Anchorman."

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Monotonous. For while it offers a few precious laughs, Talladega Nights simply apes the look and feel of most recent Ferrell movies.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.1 (out of 10) based on 183 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mike H. gave it a7:
This was a funny movie. There are some absolute gems. I really don't like stupid comedies, like the dumb and dumber, ace ventura variety (hmm, both the ame guy) but Will Farrel really put something together here that came alive through the cast and performances. The scene where he's in the bar playing a racing video game is priceless. Give it a shot. You WILL laugh, just maybe not as much as others, or perhaps even more.

[Anonymous] gave it a7:
Funny at times, Sacha Baron Cohen is hilarious as usual, same with John C. Reilly, nothing new from Ferrell, gets a little slow. Hows that for a speedy review?

Bob L. gave it a1:
This is one of the worst movies ever! Not funny!

David M. gave it a3:
While this movie had a few moments of howling laughter, "Talladega Nights" spent most of the movie sputtering and dying like a stock car that had run into the wall too many times. Will Ferrel is as funny as ever in his typical "lovable but self-absorbed dunce" role. However, Ricky Bobby is much less likable or dimensional than his previous Ron Burgundy character. I got the sense that Ricky Bobby was truly a child who never grew beyond the petulant (and drug-induced) advice from his long-absent father. I tried to like Ricky Bobby, but I never could. He was simply a loser who was in the right place at the right time. Perhaps his childish antics would be funny to the NASCAR crowd, but they grew old quickly. Sasha Cohen was a marvelous foil to Ricky as the effete and arrogant French Formula-1 racer. Their staring contest at the track was probably the funniest moment in the movie. As the movie progresses, he seems relegated to a bit-role and their rivalry never reaches the payoff it should. My biggest complaint is about the subject itself. Adam McKay really went for the jugular in "Anchorman", mercilessly needling the 70's, news anchors and mysoginists everywhere. Here he has the same opportunity to satirize NASCAR and racing in general (in my opinion, a topic that is just begging to be made fun of). However, his jokes are so soft I wonder if he was afraid of alienating NASCAR fans. He sure isn't afraid of the product placements and endorsements littering the film, so I am forced to conclude that I can't be far off. The good news is that I waited to rent this movie on DVD instead of seeing it in the theaters. The better news is I can always watch Anchorman instead.

Walker R. gave it a2:
Piece of crap. Will Ferrell is overrated and his movies consistantly suck. Where oh where are the great comedies of yesterday...Planes Trains & Automobiles anyone?

Hal B gave it a7:
A hilarious romp through southern culture and the NASCAR scene... okay, probably not entirely fair in its portrayal of the South, but generally respectful of its "targets" (NASCAR, white bread, big hair, rednecks, U.S. jingo-ism, flamboyant Frenchmen and ill-behaved children). This movie is for kicks, not for deep thought. Will Ferrell, Sasha Baron Cohen and the entire supporting cast are excellent. I tip my ball cap to "Reecky Bubby" {But I don't like crepes!}.

Chris M gave it a1:
I went to the trouble of actually reserving this title at my local movie outlet and can't remember the last time I was this disappointed over a movie. I think it caused me to grin twice... very early on I have lost much respect for a number of friends who recommended it.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Releasing

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Releasing