Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby


Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Adam McKay who co-wrote the film with Will Ferrell. It features Ferrell as the titular Ricky Bobby, an immature yet successful NASCAR driver. The film also features John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Jane Lynch, and Amy Adams in supporting roles. NASCAR drivers Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr. appear in cameos, as do broadcasting teams from NASCAR on Fox and NASCAR on NBC.
The film was released theatrically on August 4, 2006, by Columbia Pictures through Sony Pictures Releasing to critical and commercial success, grossing $163.4 million worldwide against a $72.5 million budget.

Plot

In rural North Carolina, Ricky Bobby is born in the backseat of a speeding Chevrolet Chevelle when his father, Reese, misses the turnoff for the hospital. Ricky sees Reese only once after that, at age 10, for career day at his school. Reese tells Ricky, "If you ain't first, you're last", advice which Ricky takes to heart. Fifteen years later, Ricky works on the pit crew of Dennit Racing driver Terry Cheveaux. When last-placed Cheveaux decides to take a bathroom break, Ricky replaces him and finishes third. Larry Dennit Sr. gives Ricky a permanent seat and he quickly rises to be one of NASCAR's most successful drivers. He meets his future wife Carley when she flashes her breasts after one of his wins.
Ricky persuades Dennit to field a second team for his best friend, Cal Naughton Jr., and they become an unstoppable duo using their "Shake and Bake" slingshot technique on the track. Ricky's newfound arrogance, however, irritates Dennit's alienated son, who retaliates by adding talented, openly gay French Formula One driver Jean Girard to the team. Girard not only taunts Ricky, but outperforms him and becomes Dennit's top driver. Desperate to beat Girard, Ricky crashes at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Although unscathed, he is traumatized and hospitalized. Fearful of wrecking again, his performance drastically declines and Dennit fires him. Carley leaves him for Cal, who still considers Ricky his best friend, but Ricky insists that their friendship is over.
Ricky and his two unruly sons, Walker and Texas Ranger, move in with Ricky's disciplinarian mother Lucy, who is determined to reform the boys. Ricky takes a job delivering pizzas, but after he loses his driver's license he is reduced to delivering pizza by bus or by bicycle. When his life hits rock bottom, Reese returns and uses unorthodox methods to help Ricky regain his confidence and get a new license. After causing trouble at an Applebee's restaurant, Reese abandons the family again. Before he does, he refutes his quote that has steered Ricky's life, confessing that it was nonsense because he was high on drugs at the time. Ricky's former assistant, Susan, persuades him to return to NASCAR and they quickly develop a romantic relationship. On race day at Talladega Superspeedway, Ricky is reunited with his pit crew, who have emblazoned Ricky's unsponsored car with a cougar and the word "ME" to build his self-confidence. Ricky meets with Girard, who confesses that he came to America hoping to lose to a superior driver so he can finally retire. Ricky also makes amends with Cal.
During the race, Ricky climbs from last to second behind Girard. In the final laps, however, Dennit orders Cal to knock Ricky out of the race. Cal refuses and instead helps Ricky pass Girard. Dennit then orders Ricky's replacement driver, Brian Wavecrest, to take Cal out, causing a massive wreck that eliminates everyone except Ricky and Girard. On the final lap, Ricky and Girard collide, wrecking their cars. They hastily exit their vehicles and run towards the finish line. Ricky dives across the line first, and Girard offers him a handshake, but Ricky responds by kissing him on the lips. Both drivers, however, are disqualified for exiting their cars. Cal, who was in third place, is declared the winner. Following his victory, Cal and Ricky reconcile, and Reese congratulates Ricky, who says that it was no longer about winning, since his family loves him no matter where he finishes. Ricky, his family and Susan leave to go to Applebee's.
In a post credits scene, Lucy is shown reading a William Faulkner story to Walker and Texas Ranger, both of whom are now respectful, sophisticated children.

Cast

  • Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby, the main protagonist, a NASCAR driver who only believes in winning throughout his career. He originally drove the #26 Laughing Clown Malt Liquor car until it became sponsored by Wonder Bread and Powerade during his soar to the top of NASCAR and the #62 ME car at the Talladega 500 at the end of the movie.
  • * Jake Johnson as 5-year-old Ricky.
  • * Luke Bigham as 10-year-old Ricky.
  • John C. Reilly as Cal Naughton Jr., Bobby's best friend and teammate. He drives the #47 Old Spice car.
  • * Austin Crim as 10-year-old Cal.
  • Sacha Baron Cohen as Jean Girard, the main antagonist, an openly gay French Formula One driver, Gregory's husband and Bobby's archrival. Girard's dream is to move to Stockholm and design a currency for use by dogs and cats. He is described as talented, eccentric and dominating in the Formula One circuit in a SPEED broadcast segment. While challenging Bobby, Girard drives the #55 Perrier car.
  • Gary Cole as Reese Bobby, Ricky's father.
  • Michael Clarke Duncan as Lucius Washington, Ricky's crew chief and close friend. After Ricky's firing, he and the pit crew started a car wash, where they had a hard time adjusting to the career change. They eventually return as the pit crew of Ricky's ME car.
  • Leslie Bibb as Carley Bobby/Naughton, Ricky's trophy wife, who eventually leaves him to marry Cal after she fears Ricky will not successfully return to NASCAR.
  • Jane Lynch as Lucy Bobby, Ricky's mother.
  • Amy Adams as Susan, Ricky's assistant and eventual love interest.
  • Andy Richter as Gregory, Girard's husband and a world-class trainer of German shepherds.
  • Molly Shannon as Mrs. Dennit, the younger Dennit's alcoholic wife.
  • Greg Germann as Larry Dennit Jr., the current owner of Dennit Racing, who is concerned only with season point totals and winning sponsors, and dislikes Ricky and his antics.
  • David Koechner, Jack McBrayer and Ian Roberts as Hershell, Kyle and Glenn, Bobby's three pit crew members. They join Lucius at the car wash before returning to be Ricky's pit crew. Though Glenn was initially claimed to have died while working on the car, he is revealed to still be alive, and had pretended to die as extra motivation for Ricky to win.
  • Houston Tumlin and Grayson Russell as Walker and Texas Ranger Bobby, Ricky's and Carley's two sons.
  • Adam McKay as Terry Cheveaux, an apathetic driver who is replaced by Bobby at the beginning of the film.
  • Pat Hingle as Larry Dennit Sr., original owner of Bobby's team, Dennit Racing who considers Ricky to be a son. After retiring, his son, Larry Dennit Jr., takes over the team halfway through Bobby's career.
  • Ed Lauter as John Hanafin
  • Ted Manson as Chip, Bobby's elderly, long-suffering former father-in-law.
  • Rob Riggle as Jack Telmont, the Speed Channel commentator.
  • C.J. Dornberger as Brian Wavecrest, who replaces Bobby in the 26 car at the end of the film and he was originally driven #86 Mopar Dodge before he was hired by Dennit Racing.
  • Elvis Costello and Mos Def as guests at Girard's party.
  • Jack Blessing as Jarvis, Cal's crew chief.
  • Greg Biffle appears in a special feature but is not credited in the film.
  • Frank Welker as vocal sounds of the cougar.
The broadcasters and various real-life NASCAR drivers and/or their cars from the 2005 NASCAR season can also be seen, including:
Drivers: Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, J. J. Yeley, Jason Leffler, Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Boris Said, Tony Raines, Mike Wallace, Kerry Earnhardt, Jeff Green, Jamie McMurray
Cars only: Casey Mears, Jeremy Mayfield, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Travis Kvapil, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Mike Bliss, Scott Wimmer, Jamie McMurray, Rusty Wallace, Kurt Busch, Elliott Sadler, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip, Ryan Newman, Scott Riggs, Joe Nemechek, Sterling Marlin, Jeff Burton, Ken Schrader, Kevin Lepage, Mike Skinner, Kenny Wallace, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Hermie Sadler, Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Petty, and Johnny Sauter.
Broadcasters: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds, Dick Berggren, Bill Weber, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Bob Jenkins and Rick Benjamin

Production

Development

and Will Ferrell first discussed a comedic film about a NASCAR driver while Ferrell was making Elf. Shortly after that film had wrapped, co-producer Jimmy Miller invited them to a NASCAR race in Fontana, California, after which McKay and Ferrell began writing the script. They presented the idea to studios using only a six-word pitch: "Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver". Studios responded enthusiastically to the pitch largely due to Ferrell's recent commercial success as a comedic leading man in films like Elf, Old School and Anchorman. After a bidding war, the rights were won by Sony Pictures. McKay and Ferrell knew that in order to make the film they envisioned they would need cooperation from NASCAR. After meeting with the filmmakers, NASCAR agreed to provide assistance for the film's production. McKay and Ferrell sought to make a film that individuals involved with NASCAR would enjoy in the same way that people in the television news industry enjoyed Anchorman. Ferrell stated, "We were real adamant up front that our goal wasn't to make fun of NASCAR. We wanted to have fun with NASCAR." Despite NASCAR's involvement, many teams and drivers were reluctant to participate largely due to the negative feelings they had for the 1990 film Days of Thunder. Only two drivers ended up making cameos in the film: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jamie McMurray. During development, the film's title changed from Talladega Nights to High, Wide and Handsome before eventually reverting to the original title.