"Talladega Nights" and its political overtones. (Possible spoilers.)

[Lex]

Now hear me out. "Talladega Nights" is really a funny anti-Freeper movie. I went with a friend who thought it would be a funny flick and I was surprised at the content:

The main character, Ricky Bobby, is--in the first part of the movie--an arrogant, win at all costs, chest-thumping, patriotic euphemism-spouting moron (or moran). He was essentially a caricature of George W. Bush. A clueless "I'm number 1" flag-waving ignoramus. Ricky Bobby's kids were that way too. Total spoiled brats. (The kids reminded me of Bush voters or Rush Limbaugh ditto-heads.)

Along comes Frenchman Jean Girard, played brilliantly by Sascha Baron Cohen. His thick fake French accent when he got up in Ricky Bobby's face was too funny.

He tells Ricky Bobby he's going to beat him, out-drive him, and win the next race. There is a great bar fight scene where Jean Girard whips Ricky Bobby and tells Bobby he has to say "I love crepes." Bobby and his friends are like shallow freeper types. At least in the first part of the movie.

Of course, at the next race Ricky Bobby is bested by Jean Girard and it turns out that Ricky Bobby, when facing a little adversity, runs around like a total wimp, whining and crying and pissin' his pants.

The rest is formulaic movie stuff, with the main character (Bobby) learning to have a little humility and heart. But the political overtones in this movie are certainly there on purpose. Otherwise, Steve Earle would have never allowed his music to be used in the film.

It's a damn funny movie, but it has some political messages that aren't to be missed, imho.

[wicket]

1. Great review

I can't wait to see it! :D

[htuttle]

2. Steve Earle did the music?

Then it's bound to be good.

[elehhhhna]

28. Oh now I'll go fersure!!!!

[Kutjara]

3. Sascha Baron Cohen, for those who don't know...

...is the comedian behind the incomparable 'Ali G'.

[Lex]

6. And he is hysterically funny playing the French "Formula Un"

race car driver in this movie!

He calls Ricky Bobby "Monsieur Booby" in a thick fake French accent.

[SidDithers]

9. Also the voice of Julien, the Lemur King in Madagascar...

for those of us with anklebiters still running around at home.

Sid

[zbdent]

23. "Who wipes?"

(no anklebiters here for Mr. & Mrs. ZBDent)

Oh, wait, that sounds like a freeper ...

[LostinVA]

32. They're nothing but Giant Pansies!

[TechBear_Seattle]

21. And Blorat from Khazakstan

The trailer for his new movie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borat_%28film%29) was shown before "Talladega Nights"

[elehhhhna]

29. When he got the all those bar partrons in Tucson to sing

'Throw the Jew Down the Well' I almost peed my pants. Here it is:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vb3IMTJjzfo

[Ex Lion Tamer]

30. Did you read about his hysterical rodeo bit?

Speaking in broken English, the mysterious man first told the decidedly pro-American crowd - it was a rodeo, of all things, in Salem, of all places - that he supported the war on terrorism.

"I hope you kill every man, woman and child in Iraq, down to the lizards," he said, according to Brett Sharp of Star Country WSLC, who was also on stage that night as a media sponsor of the rodeo.

Brilliant stuff: http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/xp-16655

[LostinVA]

31. And King Julien in "Madagascar"

"Feel free to bask in my glow!"

[southpaw]

4. I live about 30 minutes from Talladega...

...have for most of my life, and I've never been to the track... never watched a NASCAR race at all. I tried to watch some on TV, but couldn't get into it.

I utterly despise NASCAR and everything associated with it, so I had no intentions of seeing this movie.

However, as I read more and more reviews of it, I realize that it is probably worth seeing.

Thanks for the review!

[Lex]

8. If you don't like NASCAR, then you'll like this movie.

I don't like NASCAR either, but the total parody of these guys and the political overtones of it all, was just too funny.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. I felt the same way about the move, until I saw the right-wing reviews

Anything that neo-con fundies call "totally offensive" and "insulting" and even "racist" has got to be worth seeing. :rofl:

Much to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it.

[AX10]

33. Fortunatly, I don't live near Talladega, but I do....

have a strong distaste for NASCAR and Country "Music" (redneck/southern culure) in general, but this movie is going to be funny. I will see it!

[villager]

5. It's already making the fundies nuts:

http://www.movieguide.org/

(A deranged fundie movie "review" site -- read their screed on "The Ant Bully" to see how far gone they are! An excerpt of their Talladega "review" follows below):

Strong humanist worldview with very strong politically correct elements that ridicules white Southern Christian males, the Bible Belt, Jesus Christ, the Nativity Story, Christians, NASCAR, the South, men with Southern accents, and American masculinity while promoting moral relativism, plus movie uses strong pansexual homosexual elements to mock conservative and Christian attitudes toward masculinity in a politically correct way...

[TechBear_Seattle]

13. Oh, lovely!

A Talibangelical movie critique site! :rofl: Thanks, this one is going into my shortcut list.

[villager]

17. note their "abhorrent" rating for most films! Those are the ones to see!

n/t

[underpants]

14. WOW are they at all aware of how an ant colony works

http://www.movieguide.org/index.php?s=reviews&id=7215

stressing that animals are better and more reasonable than human beings, mocking God and the devil, and talking about a female ant god as well as stressing the positive virtues of loyalty, teamwork, friendship, kindness, compassion, and caring about others,<---- oh no not THAT!!!

Communism.... in an ant colony????

[villager]

16. things are so unhinged now that when I saw "Ant Bully" with my kids

...I knew the fundies would flip out as they frantically tried to suss out the "dangerous" "subtext" of the movie...

[FSogol]

20. mocking the devil is bad? n/t

[grytpype]

15. Sounds like a winner to me!

[gatorboy]

18. Oh, man. That "Ant Bully" review is worth the price of admission alone!

Very strong humanist worldview with very strong Communist, environmentalist, politically correct elements and very foolish comments about space aliens that portrays people as bad, parents as clueless, grandmother as close-to-an idiot, sister as foolish, while commending behavioral education, stressing that animals are better and more reasonable than human beings, mocking God and the devil, and talking about a female ant god as well as stressing the positive virtues of loyalty, teamwork, friendship, kindness, compassion, and caring about others, plus occult wizardry including magic and incantations.

[villager]

19. yeah, that paragraph grabbed me, too. These people are insane.

Seriously, I mean. Absolutely nuts. What are they doing out on the streets? They're delusional.

[TAPat]

7. I didn't read your post, Lex!

I am sure it was a great review, but we are going to see it on Friday. We haven't been to a movie theatre in, shit, 2 years! Imagine my surprise when I saw it was actually playing at the only theatre within 20 miles :woohoo: Can't wait...

[Lex]

12. Well, I think you'll like it. It was like it was written by a DU'er

in terms of the poking fun at the freeper-types and the flag-waving, chest-thumping morans.

[underpants]

10. I think we should go out and claim this movie as our own

Seriously, start a web campaign to take this movie and make it ours. To tell people what we think of the dumb. I know I know "don't act like and elitist" I think we should NOT act like being brainless is okay.

[Schema Thing]

22. I agree. It's kind of like they found a way to force people to watch....

....Colbert, and understand it too, for that matter.

[Greyhound]

24. Thanks for the synopsis. Will Ferrel has never caused me to crack

a smile, let alone laugh, in his whole career, so I'm not going to see the movie, but it is good to know what the general plot is.

I guess he's like the 3 stooges, some people think they were funny, and some of us are still wondering "how can you waste an hour and a half of your life on this?".

[Lex]

25. He's not a favorite of mine either, but the movie as a whole is funny

especially Sascha Baron Cohen as Jean Girard. And John C. Reilly as Bobby's best friend, Cal, is a scream too.

There is a brief cameo by Elvis Costello, and of course, the music by Steve Earle is great too.

The movie is not just Will Ferrell, but he did do an excellent parody of a clueless chest-thumping freeper-type in this movie.

[Greyhound]

26. Yes I've seen a couple of his movies that would have been funny to me

if it weren't for him, a black hole of comedy, that just sucks all the humor out of every scene he chews up. But hey, maybe he will open a few eyes that would otherwise remain closed.

BTW I'm solidly in The Marx Brothers camp. (where's that Groucho smiley when you need it?)

[Lex]

27. Here's a Groucho smilie:

(I couldn't make the image post directly. Oh well.)