“I wanna go fast!” says Ricky Bobby.

Thus begins this “broken-down” review of the hit movie, Talladega Nights.  We will be discussing the story, overall production, leads, supporting characters, and tech.

Being one of the biggest losers in NASCAR history, Terry Cheveaux, was losing sponsors and money for his racing team.  Ricky Bobby, one of Terry’s gas pumpers, comes in to rescue his team while Terry is getting a hotdog mid-race.  Ricky, at the top of his game, then goes on an undefeated winning streak and is cheered on by his trophy wife, fans, and two sons, Walker & Texas Ranger.

Because he got too cocky with his racing, Ricky suffered a crash which hurt his ego and made him unable to race again.  His deadbeat father comes back into his life to teach him how to get out of the depth and despair and regain his honor on the racetrack once again.

This movie strikes as unique because of its laughable/goofy story.  A rather hillbillyish gas pumper comes out of the dust to be one of the greatest NASCAR racers of all time.  This comedy is set up nice because as a child Ricky always wanted to go fast.  For instance, his mother left the keys in her Volkswagen with Ricky still in his car seat.  Ricky then proceeds to climb into the front and drive down the highway.

Will Ferrell, as the main character, was not very far from his comfort zone, as he is best known for all his childish comedy movies.  He was partnered with John C. Reilly, another great comedic actor.  These two already had great chemistry going into the role as they worked together in the movie Stepbrothers too.

Ricky’s wife, kids, and father all played important side rolls.  They added to the comedy that is Ricky Bobby and helped develop the story along the way.  His wife and kids left him for his best friend who took his spot as lead racer for his team, and his father helped him get out of the ditch and win back his whole life.

Other than Will Ferrell’s big crash scene, there are not a crazy number of special affects built into the movie.  They had to put a crash dummy into a real race car that was remote controlled and had the car do a multitude of flips and explosions to look as traumatic as possible for the viewers.

When Ricky said, “I wanna go fast”, he was not joking.  In just a few months, Mr. Bobby went from a nobody to a millionaire racecar driver.  He lost everything and learned some lessons before gaining back his throne of the fastest NASCAR driver in history.