Movie review

  • 2006-10-11
  • By TBT staff
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
World Trade Center

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
"Talladega Nights" is an intentionally dumb film for not-so-dumb people. The film stars the gifted Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby, a good ole boy whose estranged father taught him that "if you ain't first, you're last." Inspired by this golden rule, Ricky becomes a successful NASCAR driver who's enormous ego ("I wake up in the morning, and I piss excellence") is fed by an unchallenged winning streak. With the exception of a high IQ, Ricky's got everything: a hot, blonde bombshell of a wife, two bratty, foul-mouthed kids who do him proud, and lots of cash. But Ricky's dominant position is threatened when European driver Jean Girrard (Sacha Baron Cohen) arrives on the scene and throws down the gauntlet. Girrard is a formidable driver, but he's also very French (he drinks macchiatos and reads Camus while driving) and very gay. There's a priceless scene in which TV announcers sit stupefied as a profile of Girrard reveals him holding hands with his husband on their ranch while feeding their horses who are also gay. Talladega Nights is an over-the-top satirical comedy for a mass audience which revels in poking fun at insulated, corporate-sponsored, homophobic redneck America. And as few ostensibly mainstream films dare to push boundaries, it demonstrates a certain genius. It also happens to be very funny. 
1/2 ( Sherwin Das )

This immensely enjoyable movie is a timely reminder for me that comedies can actually be funny. In fact, I can't remember the last time I laughed so much at the cinema. The normally annoying Will Ferrell is perfectly cast as Ricky Bobby, a simple redneck whose sole dream from childhood is "to go fast." He ends up becoming a champion NASCAR driver and living out the American dream until gay Frenchman Jean Girrard (Sacha Baron Cohen) turns up on the scene and outwits him on the racetrack. "Talladega Nights" satirizes everything from Hollywood to product placement to sports sponsorship to buddy-buddy relationships. The humor effortlessly veers between the acerbic and the outright absurd and for once nearly every joke is spot on. Sacha Baron Cohen is particularly memorable as the gay French driver. His magnificently mangled accent eschews Inspector Clouseau-style cliche, becoming a parody of countless other parodies in the process. Indeed, most comedies of late seem unable to get beyond parody but "Talladega Nights" tackles its rather obvious subject matter with such verve and venom that it's an absolute pleasure to watch. If only more comedies had the nerve to take the joke to the outer limit like this one. 
( Tim Ochser )

World Trade Center
In "World Trade Center," Oliver Stone recounts the true story of two New York City policemen, played by Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena, as they entered Tower One on Sept. 11, 2001 to rescue people and then found themselves trapped underneath the rubble when the towers collapsed. The film shuttles back and forth between the trapped men as they fight to stay alive and their suburban families who anxiously await news of their safety. I disliked this film enormously: it's long, drawn-out, melodramatic and feels like a substandard disaster picture. Maybe I'm an insensitive schmuck, but scene after scene of suffering family members, emotional catharses and bonding moments was too much to bear. While all of this clearly happened, pasting together one gushing moment after another does not make for an interesting film or provide any particular insight. With its thick layer of sentimentality, "World Trade Center" has a weepy TV movie-of-the-week flavor and panders to the raw emotions that, five years later, American audiences still attach to the event. After the rescue attempt at the end of the film, Cage's character reminds us, in voiceover, how Americans were brought together in a time of crisis: "people taking care of each other because it was the right thing to do." The right thing to do, in my opinion, is to see the brilliant and far superior "United 93." 
1/2 ( Sherwin Das )

There is something extremely distasteful and discomforting about Oliver Stone's take on the attack on the World Trade Center. Stone chooses to focus on the real-life story of two policemen who were buried alive in the rubble that morning and who were among the last of only 20 or so people to be pulled out alive. He is clearly at pains to avoid any sort of politicized angle on events but the result is even worse in consequence. What we get instead is a disconcertingly generic tale of good old-fashioned Hollywood-style heroism as Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) and John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) try to keep each other's spirits up as they lay trapped in the debris. Stone evidently hoped that this true story within a true story would be an eloquent testimony to the good that came out of the attack, but unfortunately two goods don't make a right. "World Trade Center" ends up inadvertently illustrating some serious and unsettling aspects at the heart of contemporary America, not least of which is a film-induced ignorance about the world. No doubt Stone thought he was making a fitting monument to the heroism of two ordinary men caught up in extraordinary events. But it's simply a mess. 
( Tim Ochser )
 

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