Will Ferrell and John C. ReIlly have never been funnier together (okay maybe "Step Brothers") than they were in TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE LEGEND OF RICKY BOBBY.
Depending on your perspective, NASCAR is already pretty ripe for parody and the boys nail it here as two of the dumbest drivers to ever hit the track.
Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) and Cal Naughton (Reilly) are the Shake and Bake duo, plumbing to new depths of trailer trash hilarity.
Giving us flashbacks to their 10 year old selves, we see the two boys form their bond that will carry them on to their hilarious careers. Watching Reilly's complete oblivion to the fact Ricky wont allow him a moment in the spotlight brings plenty of laughs.
Some of the best scenes are their meals around the table with their extended family in Bobby's giant McMansion.
His two young sons Walker and Texas Ranger (perfectly played by Houston Tumlin & Grayson Russell) are the most disrespectful, wild little monsters on the planet and also two of the funniest.
Consider this table exchange with their Grandpa Chip:
Walker: Shut up, Chip, or I'll go ape-shit on your ass!
Texas Ranger: I'm gonna scissor-kick you in the back of the head!
Walker: I'm ten years old, but I'll beat your ass!
Texas Ranger: Chip, I'm gonna come at you like a spider monkey!
Walker: Greatest Generation my ass. Tom Brokaw's a punk!
Chip: What is wrong with you?
Texas Ranger: Chip, I'm all jacked up on Mountain Dew!
Half improvised and half written, the cast nails nearly every scene.
Sacha Baron Cohen is obnoxious French driver Jean Girard ("Hakuna Matata, bitches!), Gary Cole slays it as Bobby's long lost Daddy, Michael Clark Duncan is his pit boss and Molly Shannon steals every scene she's in as the owner's drunken wife.
A very young Amy Adams is a lot of fun as a quiet (at first) member of Ricky's race team.
With wall-to-wall race action, big laughs, absurd situations and good ol boy hilarity, its gets funnier with repeat viewings.
One of my favorite Ferrell films, he and Reilly are in great form. Ferrell regulars David Koechner and Jack McBrayer blend in with plenty of real life drivers making humorous appearances throughout.
TALLADEGA NIGHTS cracks me up. Skip Ferrell and Reilly's horrible "Holmes and Watson" and watch this one again instead. It gets a hilarious A. I already can't wait to watch it again.
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