Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

After his drunken, deadbeat father tells his classmates that you’re a loser if you’re not number one, Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) makes it a life-long mission to be the best stock car driver ever. As soon as Ricky is given the opportunity to race he is instantly a champion and becomes a gigantic egomaniac that’ll endorse any product while parading around with his hot trophy wife and his horribly raised children, Walker and Texas Ranger. When a gay French Formula One driver (Sacha Baron Cohen) enters the NASCAR circuit and breaks Ricky’s spirit (as well as his arm), the tide changes and our hero’s life spirals out of control, allowing his runner-up friend Cal (John C. Reilly) to move up in the standings and in on his wife. Adam McKay and Will Ferrell also wrote Anchorman, which is a superior film because it had far more interesting characters, but this tale of an incompetent all-American race car driver is hilarious on numerous occasions, especially when Ricky prays to Baby Jesus. The DVD initially appears to have a lot of extras but most of these could have been lumped into one category such as "alternate one-liner clips,” as actors improvise their lines, including a profanity-laced section dedicated to Walker and Texas Ranger. There are interviews with some of the cast members in character, which is amusing but is just more improvisation, and the extended scenes drag on. The deleted scenes are more interesting though and some should have been kept, such as a moment with the underused Jane Lynch, who plays Ricky’s mother, as her son demonstrates his ability to fart "I love you” and "Merry Christmas.” It’s a scene that should have remained not only because it’s funny but because this film needed more softer moments like this. Plus: gag reel, commentary, Ricky and Cal’s endorsement spots.