Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby / ***1/2 (PG-13)
Thursday, August 4th, 2005Three cheers for Ricky Bobby — the man, the myth, the name. The title of this pitch-perfect parody of an auto-racing biopic is “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” but the racing hero’s name is so great (and so much fun to say) that people are already just calling it “Ricky Bobby.” The first time I heard the title character’s nom de tube in “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” the previous collaboration between Will Farrell and Adam McKay, I laughed out loud. A 1970s local newscaster? What better name than Ron Burgundy? And now, a NASCAR driver? Ricky Bobby, of course!