Week Of July 31, 2006 - Mon / Wed / Fri

August 2, 2006

Thank you, Baby Jesus!

The ferocity with which Will Ferrell self-destructed last year was horrifying. Melinda & Melinda, Kicking & Screaming, Bewitched, and Winter Passing… phew. Ferrell even got smacked down by some after cameoing in the big comedy of last summer, Wedding Crashers and doing terrific work in a movie almost no one saw, The Producers.

But Talladega Nights marks a return to the form of Old School, Elf, and Anchorman. It is a bigger film than Anchorman and not the least gimmicky… not that I didn't love those gimmicks. This is a straight caricature comedy, not terribly distant from reality, except that the characters are very broad. But no winking at the camera. In some ways, this is a Ferrell step towards Adam Sandler.

The third act, which is not even alluded to in the materials for the film, sags. The story evolution is pretty much necessary, unlike, say, Anchorman, which really had no arc except for character arc (did we really care about Ms. Corningstone's career?). But the movie gets kind of bogged down in storytelling and forgets to raise the stakes on various good ideas that do turn up.

Still… Talladega Nights is very, very funny.

It's not just the Will Ferrell show. John C. Reilly is at his best here, reprising a Boogie Nights-like role without an ounce of the irony and darkness. Sasha Baron Cohen, warming the world up for his soon-to-be-legendary Borat, turns up as the personification of French obnoxiousness. Good work from Michael Clarke Duncan (who is a physical presence, but not used to fill the roll of "giant black man" in this film, but a full, humorous supporting actor). Leslie Bibb, the always great Jane Lynch, and especially Houston Tumlin and Grayson Russell as Walker and Texas Ranger.

The storyline is simple. Ricky Bobby wants to go fast. He ends being a top driver. He gets a rival. He pushes too hard, has and accident and appears to lose everything. A third act and hilarity ensue.

The audience reaction around the country will be interesting because it could be seen as mocking the denizens of the south. Yet that group has always seemed to have had a great sense of humor about itself, unlike, say, Los Angeles. Hee Haw always represented a sense of humor that many would find embarrassing. And the same feel is here, too. It's good spirited self-mockery. You wonder how many people really do feel like going to Appleby's as a nice night out.

Ricky Bobby is d-u-m dumb. And so is almost everyone he surrounds himself with. But he is never mean spirited. Even his lowlife father has a directness that makes his ugly choices funny instead of unpleasant.

Yet the writing can be very smart. For instance, there is a very funny scene that also rolls into outtakes over credits, in which the family ends up discussing how they see Jesus. And it isn't just stupid. The idea of people having an image in their head as they pray is actually kind of thoughtful and interesting… even if what we are hearing in the film is laugh-out-loud absurd.

If you find an 8-year-old threatening his grandfather with physical violence because "that's what winners do" funny, this is the movie for you.

If the idea that jazz music at a southern bar might burn the ears of the patrons, this movie is for you.

If Will Ferrell wrestling with a cougar puts a big, dumb grin on your face, this movie is for you.

After a truly crappy summer for comedy, we are about to get three really funny films in the next four months… and that doesn't even take into account how good Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny or Happy Feet might be. But Talladega Night, School For Scoundrels and Borat all feel like must-buy DVDs to come for any college age kid. Good times.

E Me.

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