'Talladega Nights' With Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz, and Danny Kelly

The Rewatchables

The hosts of The Rewatchables dive into Adam McKay's 2006 comedy 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,' celebrating its 20th anniver

Key takeaways

• The movie was greenlit based on a six-word pitch: 'Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver,' showcasing an unprecedented level of faith in the talent without a script.

Main topics

• The legacy of 'Talladega Nights' in Will Ferrell's filmography
• The unique pitch process that led to the movie's greenlighting

Notable quotes

'I'm not a very good man. I'm just a really good driver.'

'If you're not first, you're last!'

Conclusion

The episode concludes with the hosts reflecting on the film's timeless

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:05) The Rewatchables is brought to you by the Ringer Podcast Network, where you can find the Ringer Fantasy Football Show with us three. I'm Craig Horlbeck. I'm here with Danny Heifetz. And Danny Kelly? He's got two first names? Oh. I Speaker 4 (0:21) knew that was coming. Speaker 2 (0:23) Well, anyway, Talladega Nights, The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is next. Speaker 1 (0:28) This episode of the rewatchables is presented by Mazda. One reason why Mazda was named consumer reports, safest new car brand. Confidence isn't an upgrade. It's a given. Take the Mazda CX-50 Hybrid. It comes standard with a suite of proactive safety features. Mazda, move and be moved. Visit mazdausa.com and discover how confidence comes standard. Consumer Reports does not endorse products or services. Visit mazdausa.com to learn more. Speaker 2 (1:13) All right, guys, 2006. This movie came out August 4th, 20 years ago. Directed by Adam McKay. written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, starring Will Ferrell, produced by Judd Apatow, made a bunch of money. Everybody loved it. What a time to be alive. Goddamn, take me back. Speaker 4 (1:31) America Speaker 2 (1:31) really did used to be built on hot, badass, nasty speed. You know what I mean? And we're not anymore. Eleanor knew what Speaker 4 (1:38) she was talking about. Speaker 2 (1:39) Eleanor knew what she was talking about. I guess we can start here. When this movie came out, did you see it in theaters? How old are you? And where did it kind of fall in the Will Ferrell ranking at the time and now? Speaker 4 (1:53) I was 26. So I feel like I got to experience this the most because it was, sorry, not 26. I was 24 in 2006. Just had graduated college. And yeah, it was awesome. I feel like in that era, it was just. Every year or even like a couple times a year, they were coming out with these get your butt to the freaking theaters and watch this because it's going to be the best thing you've ever seen type movies every year. I'd say this is like that near the height of Will Ferrell's powers, maybe not at the absolute height. It was Speaker 2 (2:24) right there. Speaker 4 (2:26) But yes, I remember just being so excited to go to the theater, see these movies. It felt like every movie was simultaneously more ridiculous and had longer titles. Like the subtitles of these movies are always just crazy. The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Yeah. Speaker 2 (2:42) Yeah. I think Step Brothers was going to have the title. Something about the Catalina wine mixer was going to be in it. Oh, my God. And Speaker 4 (2:48) they Speaker 2 (2:48) decided to pull it. Speaker 4 (2:48) Yeah. Speaker 2 (2:49) The funny thing about these types of movies, I feel like, is you and I were like 12. Like, I didn't see this in theaters. I'm assuming you didn't either. Or did you? I Speaker 3 (2:57) think I did see it in theaters, but I was not allowed to see Anchorman in theaters. So I saw this movie before Anchorman because. I think there's a big difference between being nine and being 12 or 13 or whatever for a Will Ferrell movie. This is the defining comedy of my childhood. This is number one? This is the number one. I don't know if it's the best comedy made in the 21st century, but it's my favorite. And probably it's the one I've seen the most. It's Speaker 2 (3:17) funny. I was shocked at how quotable it was going back and rewatching it. I've seen this movie 20, 30 times, I Speaker 4 (3:24) think. Because Speaker 2 (3:24) I didn't see this in a theater, but it was just a movie that was on all the time. It had the DVD. And you can just throw it on whenever. Every scene in this movie is funny. Like, I think there are some comedies where it dips and there's like 20 minutes where it's like, oh, they're building the character. There's an art coming or there's the action scene at the end of the movie. Literally every scene of this movie is funny and has iconic quotes. It's pretty remarkable. Speaker 3 (3:47) The pace is unbelievable. Totally. In this movie. They literally just like, all right. You always talk about this, like make movies shorter, but there's no filler. There's no backstory. They just are like. kid weird dad he's a NASCAR he's a driver and he has everything and it just it just absolutely rips and then I was also amazed how many of the funny stuff is like the first 50 minutes and also the back nine is Speaker 2 (4:10) way funnier than I even remember and that's like the hardest thing to do in a comedy usually the last third is the least funny I don't really feel like this movie drops off a whole lot not Speaker 4 (4:17) like pancakes it's Speaker 2 (4:19) not what do you mean Speaker 4 (4:19) not like all exciting at first but by the end you're fucking sick of them I will note like so you said this is your favorite Will Ferrell movie It is my favorite Wolfram music. Would you say that for you, Craig? Speaker 3 (4:31) It's really hard. I know Anchorman and Step Brothers are probably more beloved and more quoted overall. But when I think of comedies, I think of Will Ferrell. But when I think of Will Ferrell, I think of Talladega Nights. Speaker 2 (4:41) Yeah, I think when this movie came out, I think it's grown more now. I don't know if people, when you ask them, name the best Will Ferrell comedy, I don't know how many people say Talladega Nights. I think they would say Anchorman or Speaker 4 (4:53) Step Brothers. Speaker 2 (4:54) Or maybe Old School. He's like a side, Speaker 4 (4:57) yeah. Speaker 2 (4:58) But I would probably say it's Anchorman or Step Brothers. But I agree with you. This movie sticks with you. It's aged beautifully. Like, all of the jokes still play. The acting is great. The supporting cast is phenomenal. Oh, my God, Speaker 4 (5:09) yeah. Like, the awards that all of the supporting cast has won over the years is, like, crazy. Speaker 2 (5:14) When they pitched this movie, it's funny. There used to be a category on the rewatchables, a flex category that's not there anymore, called, what is the five-word pitch of this movie? McKay and Farrell actually did pitch this movie without a script on six words. The pitch was Will Farrell as a NASCAR driver. And Sony was like, we're Speaker 4 (5:30) in. Speaker 2 (5:30) They're like, sign up. Sold. Cut the check. This is from Farrell's agent. There was a great piece in The Ringer written by Jake Krings Shrifles about an oral history of kind of like Will Farrell as a sports movie icon. and talladega nights and from from will's agent he said there was no movie there was no script there was nothing and sony greenlit the movie i don't know if anyone's ever done that in history yeah Speaker 4 (5:53) is Speaker 2 (5:54) there like a is there like a ringer pot equivalent of that it's like chris ryan smoking cigarettes ranking zero movie bars i'm Speaker 1 (6:03) in what Speaker 2 (6:04) pitch would it have to be um let's talk about farrell and mckay who kind of one of the all-time comedy duos. Yeah. Who, I think in my head, made more movies together than I thought, but it's really only four? I Speaker 3 (6:19) also was Speaker 2 (6:19) surprised Speaker 3 (6:20) going back. I Speaker 2 (6:21) would have said eight or ten. So it's Speaker 4 (6:24) what? Anchorman? It's Speaker 2 (6:25) Anchorman 1 and 2. So if you combine those, it's the Anchorman franchise, it's Talladega, Step Brothers, and the other guys. Those are the only movies that McKay directed that Farrell acted in. McKay also did the story for The Campaign and Get Hard, which starred Will Farrell, which are two movies I have not seen, actually. I think I've seen Get Hard. I forgot the campaign. Get Hard is Kevin Hart and the campaign is with Zach Galifianakis. Right? Speaker 4 (6:48) I've never seen the campaign actually. It's like a political Speaker 2 (6:51) satire. But McKay didn't direct those. So it's really only four movies. It's Anchorman, Talladega, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys. And the two of them, you know, they were hired at SNL on the exact same day. They became great friends. They started Funny or Die, which... I don't know if you're one of the first videos I remember seeing growing up was the Pearl video. The landlord girl. Yeah. The landlord. She's so mean. Which was McKay's daughter. Right. Oh, really? Yes. Speaker 4 (7:15) Oh, Speaker 3 (7:15) my God. Speaker 2 (7:16) Which was like one of the funniest. That was like the very beginning. You need to settle down. The internet videos. The Speaker 3 (7:21) Funny Speaker 2 (7:21) or Die one I Speaker 3 (7:22) always remember. We always is the Batman one for Batman. It's sleepy time. Speaker 2 (7:25) Oh, yeah. P. Holmes. And in order that would Speaker 3 (7:27) surprise you. Ass mouth edge. Speaker 2 (7:30) And they started Gary Sanchez, their production company. So, yeah, I don't know. They split up. in the late 2010s, which has a lot of interesting history about why they split up. It's been written about that it was basically McKay wrote and created Winning Time, the show about Jerry Buss, Lakers, and Farrell wanted to play Buss. Speaker 4 (7:51) Oh, right, I've heard about this, yeah. And McKay Speaker 2 (7:52) didn't want Farrell and picked John C. Reilly. Oh. Oh, shit. Yeah, which is crazy, and McKay has spoken about this in interviews and is like, yeah, I didn't tell Will, I should have. And I kind of like fucked up the whole thing. And I get it. And I get why he's upset. And I get why he's upset. That's pretty crazy. Speaker 4 (8:10) Did they ever make up? Speaker 2 (8:12) I mean, I don't think they've really worked together. Again, maybe they've been like producers on things, but I don't really think so. Why would you Speaker 3 (8:18) not want Will Ferrell as Jerry Buss? He's basically Ron Burgundy, but just older and wealthier. Also, Speaker 2 (8:25) like so many more people would have watched that if Will Ferrell was playing Jerry Buss. Yeah. You know? Yeah. So, yeah. It never ends well. You know, you always, you have like a 10, 15 year stretch and then it's hard to keep these things going. In general, with comedy, I feel like we can talk about Will Ferrell now. I think he's the most influential comedy figure of the 21st century. Probably not a hot take. Speaker 4 (8:46) I Speaker 2 (8:46) think he's also the last great American comedy star, probably. Comedy movie star. Speaker 4 (8:51) I mean, that's kind of what I was saying before. If he's in a movie, I'm going to it. That's why they were able to sell this movie with no script or whatever. Yes. For basically Speaker 2 (8:59) like 10, 12 years, it was like whatever Will Ferrell's doing, I'm in. Yes. Because since he kind of entered a different part of his career, no one's really taken the mantle. It was like Melissa McCarthy in the 2010s, I think, had a couple big movies. Obviously, Bridesmaids and like Spy and Heat. What about Seth Rogen? Yeah, I always felt like Seth Rogen himself was not like the Will Ferrell style draw. It was more about like the ensemble, the concept, like the Apatow gang is what brought you in. When I was like 14, it was like, I want to go see Will Ferrell. He can do any character. Rogan is not really doing characters like Will Ferrell. Speaker 3 (9:38) Shameless pandering to you hosting Speaker 2 (9:41) this Speaker 3 (9:41) episode. But Will Ferrell actually to me is like the Steph Curry of comedy in that he somehow has the highest three-point percentage even though he's also taking the most threes. Like he just made a lot of movies. And you're right. And there's like a way of like the same way actually the Steph Curry misses you kind of just forget about. Like we literally forgot about the campaign and Get Hard. All those kind of get like involved. Like he doesn't get punished for it. But it's kind of like the way his style is just. actually making jokes, where it's just so many jokes that you end up with like gems. But that was kind of the style. He was just cranking out movies. I don't Speaker 2 (10:12) know who, like right now, you could say Tim Robinson's trying. I think he's really funny. And I think he's kind of even trying to do the same character style of like the cocky idiot, the underqualified, overconfident guy. Right, Speaker 4 (10:25) right. You know? Speaker 2 (10:26) But his style is just more niche. Speaker 4 (10:28) Yeah. Yeah. He also just doesn't have the commanding presence. Do you think this is maybe just like... too simple, but Will Ferrell is huge. He's like a big man. And also, I think he's, like you can tell, he played sports. The way he moved, like he can pull off an athlete. He did so many sports movies. He can pull off an athlete, even though he's obviously not super athletic anymore. He can move like it, like he's done it before kind of deal. And I don't know if anyone had sort of the actual physical gravitas that he had. Maybe Vince Vaughn, who was, I think, one of like maybe one of his rivals in terms of like biggest. Comedy stars that era. Ben Stiller was quite a bit smaller. But it Speaker 2 (11:07) still had a physicality to him. Yeah, he did. I Speaker 4 (11:09) do Speaker 2 (11:09) think athleticism and like frame, body control is like one of the more underrated parts of being good at comedy. Speaker 4 (11:16) Yeah. You Speaker 2 (11:17) go, like you look at guys like Belushi and Candy. And all these guys who you look at them and you wouldn't think anything of them. But they're also, they're like secretly very athletic and coordinated dudes. Speaker 3 (11:27) Even the big guys have the Trent Williams athleticism where it's like you wouldn't know what Speaker 2 (11:30) their shuttle time is. Great footwork. And it matters. Even Jim Carrey, they all know how to move their body because comedy is half physical. Speaker 4 (11:37) Dude, I was reading about Will Ferrell was closely connected to USC during the P. Carroll era. Yeah. And he went to one of their practices one time and put on a full... pads and how and everything was like running routes they're like who the fuck is this guy and then he took off his helmet oh my god it's will ferrell Speaker 3 (11:53) that's the other thing about will ferrell is like the ubiquity is it's almost hard to explain now how much he was always putting out a movie but he was always doing weird stuff like he was an usher at a lakers game he was doing stuff like that i forgot till i read that jake article in the ringer that he did the I want to play nine positions in a baseball game or 10, I guess, technically. Oh, Speaker 4 (12:12) right. And then I Speaker 3 (12:13) was like, I forgot that he went to 10 different or five different teams to play because he was like only going to do two positions. But he's always doing some Speaker 2 (12:20) kind of viral stunt. Yeah. So he was just always around doing stuff. And it never feels forced with him. Like it's all love of the game stuff. You know, there's kind of like the Bill Murray lore. It's like Bill Murray showed up at my dinner party and blah, blah, blah. Farrell's the same way, but it doesn't feel performative. He truly just does it because he thinks it's funny. He'll just show up and like do that. Yeah, the Lakers game where he dresses as a security guard, but he's like not trying to go viral. I feel like he just loves jokes. Speaker 4 (12:44) Yeah, it's a good bit. Speaker 2 (12:46) Yeah. You talk about Will Ferrell playing sports though. he might be the comedy sports star ever. I mean, he rattles off Kicking and Screaming, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, and Semi-Pro in four years. And it's kind of like after Die Hard, when they just started ripping off Die Hards, and it was like Die Hard on a boat under siege. It was kind of like Will Ferrell plays sport. Speaker 4 (13:08) Yeah, totally. And you could Speaker 2 (13:10) just get away with that for five years? Speaker 4 (13:11) I mean, after they did NASCAR, which, you know, is... They were like trying to be careful not to be making fun of it But NASCAR is very like has a spot in an American culture and and then they're like what how can we top that? so we're gonna do figure skating like What I mean, what would be like the next sport that you'd want to see him do that? Well, Speaker 2 (13:30) I'm Speaker 4 (13:30) like more ridiculous than this I Speaker 2 (13:31) was looking at his IMDB and his upcoming projects it says and this was part of the interview on the on the ringer piece that They're kind of they've like bounced around they basically gone through every sport and they're like, what would be the funniest? Speaker 4 (13:42) Yeah. It Speaker 2 (13:42) says he has an upcoming eSports comedy in the works. Okay. But then the logline is like exactly what you think. It's like Will Ferrell plays video Speaker 3 (13:50) games. Speaker 2 (13:50) It's like washed up former athlete thinks he can get back into the game with eSports. It's like every other story. Yeah. But sure I'm in. I mean he's doing golf right now. He's doing the Hawk on Netflix. I do want to read I just want to read Ferrell's run from 01 to 2010. and just how unassailable and ridiculous it is. And we'll probably never see this again in comedy. This is what he does. Some of these are supporting roles and some of these are lead, but still it's worth mentioning all of them. From 2001 to 2010, he goes, Zoolander, Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Starsky and Hutch, Kicking and Screaming, Wedding Crashers, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, Step Brothers, and the other guys. All Speaker 3 (14:34) of those are actually incredible and still funny. I would Speaker 2 (14:37) say five of those are among the most iconic comedies ever made, at least for the 21st century or people in our generation. Speaker 3 (14:44) I think what's craziest about that list is the fifth funniest movie on that list is probably The Other Guys, which has some of the best jokes I've ever seen in any movie ever. Super Speaker 4 (14:51) underrated. Speaker 2 (14:52) It has to be the most underrated Farrell movie. I don't know if people were just like getting sick of it by then, but that movie, I just watched it the other week on a plane. It was amazing. Speaker 4 (14:59) And the movies that you mentioned that he is a minor character or sort of like an extended cameo, he is arguably the funniest person in that movie and some of those movies, like the movie Got To and Zoolander. You Speaker 2 (15:11) can toss in Austin Powers, too. He makes a brief. Speaker 4 (15:13) Yeah, and he's the guy who's like, I'm very Speaker 2 (15:15) badly burned. Speaker 4 (15:17) I'm glad you're here. Hold on. I'm very badly burned. Speaker 2 (15:20) I'm very Speaker 4 (15:20) badly Speaker 2 (15:21) burned. Yeah, that's the thing is not only can he lead a movie and dominate it, he's the Dion Waiters every time he shows up for 10 minutes. Speaker 4 (15:26) 100%. Like Chaz. What's his name in Wedding Crashers? He's Chaz. Literally the most best part of Wedding Speaker 3 (15:32) Crashers. He's the best part of Eastbound and Down. Yeah. When he just basically just showed up and wanted to make Danny McBride laugh. Let the boy watch. Speaker 2 (15:39) Let the boy. A swelter Speaker 3 (15:41) in a Speaker 2 (15:41) bluish hue. I said no. Let the boy watch. Ashley Schaefer. Also underrated. The names in all these movies. Elite. I have it written down. They must have Speaker 4 (15:53) spent so Speaker 2 (15:53) much Speaker 4 (15:54) time. Farrelly Speaker 2 (15:54) McKay. They know how to name a fucking movie character, man. All of these are just off the top of the head. You know it. Ricky Bobby. Ron Burgundy. Buddy the Elf. Frank the Tank. Chaz Michael Michaels. You have Daylon Brennan. Speaker 3 (16:07) And Jackie Moon. Speaker 4 (16:09) I'm Speaker 3 (16:09) glad you brought that up because there are so many times where I neither know. I just never know the character's name and I just call them by the actor's name. Yes. And they somehow have Will Ferrell be really famous, but we call him Ricky Bobby. Speaker 2 (16:19) It's something, whenever we do rewatchables and I'm watching like Bill, Chris, and Sean, I'm always so impressed at how well they're able to remember the character's names and they can speak about them as the characters. I'm always like, oh yeah, when Gwyneth Paltrow does this. Yeah, yeah. But you don't have to do that with Will Ferrell movies. Frank the Tank. Speaker 4 (16:35) Yeah. Frank Ricard. Speaker 2 (16:37) It's perfect. Speaker 3 (16:38) Blue. Just everything. You're my boy, Blue. Also, they just almost make yellable names. Ricky! Yeah. Speaker 4 (16:45) Brick. Speaker 3 (16:46) Brick? Speaker 4 (16:47) John C. Reilly was supposed to be Brick. His name's Brick. So I'm stepping on the categories. Speaker 2 (16:53) We'll get to that later. I do want to talk about, though, this always happens with comedy. It's hard to sustain. Speaker 4 (16:59) Yeah. It Speaker 2 (17:00) just is. After The Other Guys in 2010, here are the next movies he did from 2010 to basically 2020. So he does Step Brothers in 08. He does The Other Guys in 2010. And then he goes on The Office in 2011. Oh, Speaker 3 (17:13) right. Speaker 2 (17:13) Remember that? He replaced Steve Crow, right? He replaced D'Angelo Vickers. Speaker 3 (17:16) Totally forgot Speaker 2 (17:17) about that. Which I loved The Office. I never loved seeing Will Ferrell, though. I didn't really watch that era. I liked Speaker 3 (17:23) Robert California more than most people. I didn't like Robert Vickers, to be honest. Speaker 2 (17:27) It was a classic. It's like every time they do it when Charlie Sheen leaves Two and a Half Men, it's like, just end the show. But he does The Office in 2011. He was 44 years old. And then he does The Campaign. He does Anchorman 2. Get Hard, Daddy's Home, Zoolander 2, The House, Daddy's Home 2, and Holmes and Watson in 2018, which was officially, I remember when that came out and I was like, oh wow, Farrell and Riley are back. Speaker 4 (17:50) Yeah. Speaker 2 (17:51) It didn't work. And I remember thinking if they just didn't do British accents, the movie might've worked. That was my friend Chris's take. Did Speaker 3 (17:58) they Speaker 2 (17:58) do that the whole movie? It was Speaker 3 (17:59) a Speaker 2 (17:59) great take. I'm like, if they just didn't have the accents, it probably would Speaker 3 (18:01) have worked. The list, you reading that list reminds me, I just saw an interview with like 50 Cent the other day where they're like, are you making new music? And he's like, no. I got a lot of money. He's like, I'm not able to make rap anymore. He's like, what am I going to talk about? Doing the laundry and like filing my taxes? It's Speaker 2 (18:16) just hard to keep going. I think, you know, it was around his mid-40s when it started to taper off and really when he got into his 50s. The list is very short of... comedy movie stars in their 50s still crushing it. Speaker 4 (18:27) So he was 38 when he filmed this. I looked it up because I was like, I can't actually figure out how old he was. He's kind of ageless. He plays like a 20, he plays like someone a little bit younger, I think, in the movie, but he's always kind of doing that. I never, Speaker 3 (18:40) Farrell always just seems like 40 Speaker 2 (18:41) to me. Speaker 4 (18:41) Yes. He has been eternally 40. He does Speaker 3 (18:44) have the Bill Murray thing where Bill Murray looked at like 50, 48 years old from 30 to 60. Yes. Speaker 2 (18:50) Well, also, I always liked that Farrell like, Never cared about taking a shirt off. He was never super in shape. Didn't care. Would always like poke fun at it. He's huge, hairy, super tall. He has that Speaker 4 (19:00) weird like crease in his belly. Speaker 2 (19:02) He just like doesn't give a shit. I don't know Speaker 4 (19:04) where that's coming from. Which is Speaker 2 (19:05) also a huge part of comedy is just leaning into it. Farrell's great just because I think he had the, it at least felt as though he was comfortable with other people being funny with him in movies. He didn't need to overpower every movie. Speaker 4 (19:17) Yeah. Speaker 2 (19:17) He really surrounded himself with other people who were super funny. Like him having like a counterpart. And most of the movies he did, whether it's like John C. Reilly or, you know, like the crew in Anchorman. I kind of respect that. Like you said, Steph. It's like Steph was okay with having Clay. And I think Will was fine with like being able to play off other people. He needs Clay. Like Speaker 3 (19:37) you need someone to actually reach that level. I mean, I think he needs a John C. Reilly. Totally. Speaker 4 (19:41) You can see it in all the bits too. Like Craig said, he's not trying to overpower everyone. He's like... As they're going through scenes, there's so many scenes in this movie where you can see them just on the verge of cracking up. Oh my God. Every time. Like the knife in the leg scene. I mean, just... Cut the knife out of the other knife! Speaker 3 (19:58) Oh my God. Cut around the meat! Cut around the meat! They're in a hospital and they're cutting around the meat. I Speaker 2 (20:05) don't know why there's no one helping. Speaker 4 (20:07) Cut around the meat! Don't Speaker 2 (20:09) you Speaker 4 (20:09) put that knife in your leg. Speaker 2 (20:11) It really is a no skips movie. Yeah. Like every scene, I Speaker 3 (20:15) was Speaker 2 (20:15) trying to find the weak link and I was like, I don't, I can't. I don't have one. I don't think there's a scene you can cut. Cause like, even if you Speaker 3 (20:21) could Speaker 2 (20:21) say, Oh, maybe like, you know, the grandma teaching the kids how to, but I'm like, that's great. All the Gary Cole stuff is great. Are we doing a weak link right now? Speaker 3 (20:30) No, Speaker 2 (20:31) no. Just Speaker 3 (20:32) to your point, though, about the fall off is, ironically, Will Ferrell went on the shop with LeBron and Maverick Carter and our co-worker here, Rich Paul. Right. And they were talking. I Speaker 4 (20:43) consider Speaker 3 (20:43) Rich Paul and I colleagues. We're basically colleagues. Yeah, same level. And he literally just is like, Will Ferrell says, I don't make films. I make movies. Yeah. He's like, films are nuanced and planned. And we kind of just show up and we're like, yeah, Speaker 2 (20:58) I want to rehearse. Nah, Speaker 3 (20:59) let's just go. Yeah. Speaker 2 (21:00) And Speaker 3 (21:01) I think that over time you run out of ideas. And I think the perfect example of that is Anchorman 2, which I think everyone wanted to be good. There's that stupid thing where they like are in a lighthouse with a shark. The shark. And he's like pretending to be blind, but he can see. I'm like, that's just the Talladega paralyzed scene. And it's like he just he did 15 years of uninterrupted, incredible ideas. And then he kind of just did them again in the next movies. Speaker 2 (21:24) Yeah. I know. It's interesting. Like my, my brother's-in-law are in their twenties and, and one's 25, one's 28. And the 25 year old, his relationship to Will Ferrell is not as strong as I thought. Like there are movies I could pull up. I'm like, Oh, have you seen Talladega Nights? And he's like, Oh, maybe, I don't know. Speaker 4 (21:41) And it's just Speaker 2 (21:41) so shocking to me that, that I don't know. We're just in such a weird place now. I don't know what it's been. I mean, here and there, there are good movies popped up. Like I think Game Night's great. That was in 2018 and Booksmart's good. I remember when Blockers came out at the end of the 2010s. John Cena. Yeah, and I thought Blockers was okay. But we've been in such a weird spot and no one's been able to replace Will Ferrell. And I think it's made me appreciate him even more. And I think it's made this movie and this run age even better because there's just, it almost seems unfathomable now that there could be a star that could be doing this. Where every year they're in a new movie and all of America's going to see it. That's what Speaker 3 (22:19) I wanted to ask you about. Who else could do this? Like, is it Shane Gillis? Like, could Shane Gillis do this again? I Speaker 2 (22:25) think it's Shane Gillis. Although, I don't know. I think what Farrell is able to do is like he can really play characters. I know he's kind of always doing the same thing. But Farrell's ability on SNL as somebody who can just like morph into anyone really works. I don't know if Gillis has that. Sometimes the stand-up becoming a huge movie star, it obviously works sometimes. But... I don't know if I can see Gillis. He Speaker 4 (22:46) just Speaker 2 (22:46) plays Speaker 4 (22:47) himself in everything. Speaker 2 (22:48) Yeah. Speaker 4 (22:48) I Speaker 2 (22:48) think it would have to be him, though. Even though he's making a TV show right now on Netflix, Tires, which is really funny, but he's just basically being himself. Right. And I don't know if it's like Shane Gillis is a ping pong player. Shane Gillis is a cook. I kind of think Speaker 3 (23:03) people would go see that, though. I Speaker 2 (23:04) kind of think Speaker 3 (23:04) it Speaker 2 (23:05) would work. Well, he's the most famous comedian in the world, and it would have to be him. I don't really know who else would be doing it. Like I said, Tim Robinson, I think, is too niche. And outside of that, there's no crew. The Pharrell McKay crew, Stiller and Owen Wilson and all them, and then you move to Apatow and Seth Rogen, which became like even more improv heavy and it was just like stoners in a room improvising. And then after that, once we got to like, this is the end, whatever, it dissipated. No group has replaced them. And now we're just in No Man's Land. Speaker 4 (23:34) I do think the Tim Robinson parallel with Pharrell though is, and maybe there's probably a bunch of examples of this, but in that era, in the 2000s, 2010s even, We communicate like my friends and I communicated through movie quotes like we could do an entire conversation It's just just movie quotes from Will Ferrell like all different like Anchorman was huge, you know, and I Think what like Tim Robinson is kind of similar to that like we so many Tim Robinson quotes the memes He is really really memeable and that's like become part of you know, there's like guys or whatever like we just talk I haven't even seen I think like all of I think you should leave and I still quote scenes I haven't seen. I Speaker 2 (24:12) got to figure out how to make money on this. There's a new Marvel movie out that's supposed to be nuts. I totally agree. Speaker 3 (24:18) To that point, I actually think if you deleted all the Will Ferrell lines from my brain, I don't think I could have a conversation with my friends. I don't know how to communicate with other men without Will Ferrell. It is weird now. Do Speaker 2 (24:30) we Speaker 3 (24:30) just become best friends? Like memes Speaker 2 (24:32) are becoming bigger than the source material. You know? I have not seen Speaker 3 (24:37) that many episodes of I Think You Should Leave, and yet I Speaker 2 (24:40) know like 50 quotes. Yeah, the hot dog, the 55 burgers, like all that stuff. You don't even have to have seen those episodes and you get Speaker 4 (24:46) it. Speaker 2 (24:46) I Speaker 4 (24:46) just think you're here for the zip line. Speaker 2 (24:48) It's just so odd that that's where we are. It's like almost like now how they say how many followers you have is less relevant. It's just like how many views the video gets. Speaker 3 (24:57) Yes, it's like in TikTok, it's like it doesn't even matter necessarily if you have a million followers or 10,000, but you're right. You can get the quotes in the cultural water without actually having digested it. Speaker 2 (25:07) Yes. Like, I think you should leave. I don't know how popular it is. I think it's relatively popular, maybe more cult following. And yet the memes are ginormous and everybody knows the memes, even though people maybe didn't see the show. Speaker 4 (25:17) We're all trying to figure out who did this. Yes. You know, like the hot dog. I haven't even seen that scene. Speaker 2 (25:22) I don't think I've seen the zip line thing. Speaker 4 (25:25) Yeah. Oh, Speaker 2 (25:25) my God. The zip line. Speaker 3 (25:26) I've seen Speaker 2 (25:27) the 40 second clip. I've Speaker 3 (25:28) never Speaker 2 (25:28) seen the Speaker 3 (25:29) full thing. Yeah. Speaker 2 (25:30) Ronnie, I think you're just here for the zip line. He's like, what? And then it's like the Speaker 4 (25:35) maintenance guy's Speaker 2 (25:37) like, he broke it. He's like, shut up, Mike. Anyway, Speaker 4 (25:40) this Speaker 2 (25:41) movie is John C. Reilly, who, one of the best character actors ever, can do drama, do comedy, has worked with like PTA and Martin Scorsese, and then just slipped in and became Will Ferrell's number two. Kind of like Jeff Daniels with Jim Carrey. Speaker 4 (25:56) Yeah. Speaker 2 (25:56) And... Honestly, it's kind of like Cal Naughton to Ricky Bobby in real life with Will Ferrell. He's the number two. He's happy to do it. Speaker 3 (26:03) Clearly the real life thing, like what you're saying about the winning time thing where John C. Reilly gets to be Jerry Buss and Will Ferrell freaks out. That's literally the, well, if you win. Speaker 4 (26:11) Yeah, yeah. How am Speaker 3 (26:12) I Speaker 2 (26:12) going to win? And Speaker 4 (26:13) he's like, yeah, you're right. Adam McKay like thought that through and was like, I want to try this in real life. The magic man. Now you see him. Now you don't. Ah, damn it. It's actually awesome. Yeah. Yeah. And Speaker 2 (26:25) Reilly got his shot. I mean, after Talladega, he gets, he gets Walk Hard, which I know you, is a big movie for you. I really like it. Walk Speaker 3 (26:32) Hard is hilarious. Didn't that kind of pause all those music movies being made for like 10 years, the way Austin Powers changed James Bond? I Speaker 2 (26:40) never, yeah, I never had a stronger relationship to Walk Hard. It didn't do very well. And I think it's why. John C. Reilly didn't really get another like lead comedy role shot. I think that was it. It didn't really work. And then they kind of like, he went back and did Step Brothers. Just Speaker 4 (26:51) a little bit too much full frontal penis in Walk Hard for people's taste, maybe. I don't know. I think it's a classic. I actually rewatched it like a month ago and it still holds up in my opinion. I'm cutting half pretty bad. The weed scene's great. The weed scene is... You don't want any of this shit. Sounds expensive. It's the cheapest drug there is. The Speaker 2 (27:15) movie also has Sacha Baron Cohen, Jane Lynch, Gary Cole, Amy Adams, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Molly Shannon. Elite supporting cast. Again, no misses across the board. Jack McBrayer, David Koechner. It's just like everyone in it's great. The movie made $163 million on a $72 million budget. Not bad. Speaker 4 (27:36) But Speaker 2 (27:36) this was in the DVD era where it's like the budget, you can't look at the Wikipedia budget. That's probably half of what it actually did. It made like 90 million in DVD sales and then I'm sure a ton more beyond that. It was the largest opening of Will Ferrell's career at the time. I think it still might be the most profitable Adam McKay movie. No Roger Ebert review, but we will take a quick break and then we'll get into most rewatchable scene where there's like 15. Speaker 1 (28:02) The whole movie. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Here in the Rewatchables, we talk a lot about strange things or crazy things or committed things that actors did to prepare for a role. I think a recent one is The Odyssey, Matt Damon, who is my age, by the way, getting in absolutely crazy shape, gave up gluten, worked out every day, had to get, you know, looking fit and buff and skinny for Odysseus because he was away for eight to 10 years. committed to it. Now he's going to get a best actor nomination. When you're hiring, skip the daring stunts. Use ZipRecruiter. Try it free at ziprecruiter.com slash rewatchables with its powerful matching tech. ZipRecruiter shows you the most interested candidates first. Candidates can even send a note explaining why they want the job. Always fun to read those. No wonder four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free. At ZipRecruiter.com slash rewatchables. That is ZipRecruiter.com slash rewatchables. Meet your match on ZipRecruiter. Today's most rewatchable Speaker 2 (29:12) scene is presented by Mazda. There's driving and then there's driving with peace of mind. Knowing you're behind the wheel of Consumer Reports' safest new car brand, Mazda. But more on that later. All right, most rewatchable scene. You guys know the drill, right? I'll go through all the scenes and then you pick your favorite one at the end. Sometimes people don't know. Sometimes people are like, that's mine. Hold it. And then we'll get to it at the end. All right. All right. Opening title card, not a scene, but Eleanor Roosevelt quote fucking sets the tone. Yeah. I know exactly what I'm getting into. Honestly, that's the quickest tone setter I've ever seen for a movie. Eleanor Roosevelt. Speaker 4 (29:47) I completely Speaker 2 (29:47) get the entire ethos of the movie with just a title card. Yeah. Three little vignettes to start the movie the the the birth in the car the kids stealing the car in class or at the grocery store and then Reese Bobby at career day is like these three tight little vignettes you get your if you're not first your last And then we get the Ricky as an adult, I don't know what to do with my hands and then he starts winning montage We get I piss excellence Speaker 2 (30:19) Car handle wheel, dude. Just put it down. Just put it down. I like how Speaker 4 (30:24) the guy just very gently touches his Speaker 2 (30:26) head. Speaker 4 (30:26) Just put it down. Speaker 2 (30:28) Car handle real nice. I just love it. It's so good. That's just stuff that like, you just, that's not in the script. I just love that. Yeah. Car handle real nice. You get the, Ricky Bobby's got two first names. I was trying to think of the owner, the Dennetts. Yeah. I want you to, what's the football comp there? What's the NFL owner comp with the owner of Dennett and then the son taking over? It's got Speaker 3 (30:54) to be Jerry and Steven Jones. Is that? Yeah, Speaker 2 (30:57) you Speaker 3 (30:57) might be Speaker 2 (30:57) right. But then who is Ricky Bobby to Steve Jones? Speaker 3 (31:02) Who do you got? Good question. Romo's the layup, but I mean. Speaker 2 (31:07) Do we have, is there an Al Davis, Mark Davis? Oh, Speaker 3 (31:11) that's pretty good. Yeah. Microwave John Gruden. It's not bad. Speaker 2 (31:17) We have the dinner scene. Speaker 3 (31:18) Yeah. Where Speaker 2 (31:19) we meet Walker and Texas Ranger. Speaker 3 (31:22) My beautiful sons. TR, as Speaker 4 (31:23) we call Speaker 2 (31:23) them. Speaker 2 (31:27) I don't know. Summer's been ready for hours. I've been slaving over this for hours. Her Speaker 3 (31:33) accent's perfect. Speaker 2 (31:35) Dear Lord, baby Jesus. Leslie Bibb is great. I love the way he's talking to you, Chip. You brought this on yourself, Chip? That's what happens when I see Kai speak up to Heifetz. I love Speaker 3 (31:46) the way he's talking to you, Heifetz. You brought the heat. She said, I have a lumpy butt. And then I said, fuck you. And she yelled at me and I pissed Speaker 2 (31:55) in my pants. I love that he pissed in his pants. There's so many. This scene is one of the more iconic moments of the movie, I would say. Praying Speaker 4 (32:01) to Speaker 2 (32:01) dear Speaker 4 (32:01) Lord, baby Jesus. Eight pounds, six ounces. Speaker 2 (32:05) Newborn infant Jesus. Don't even know a word yet. Speaker 4 (32:11) I like Speaker 2 (32:11) to think of Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt. Hey, Cal, why don't you shut the hell up? He's like, yes, ma Speaker 4 (32:16) 'am. Speaker 2 (32:16) Yes, ma'am. That relationship's great. I'm all jacked up on Mountain Dew. I'm coming at you like a spider monkey. There's just a remarkable amount of quotes in this movie. Speaker 3 (32:27) I threw grandpa's war medals off the bridge. Sounds like a good day. Dude, you know the meme of like, I'll put it in the Louvre? Yeah. Literally, this scene made ape shit a thing. Oh, I'll go apeshit on your Speaker 2 (32:39) ass. Speaker 3 (32:39) I'll go apeshit on your ass. You know what happens a few years later? Jay-Z makes a song with Beyonce called Apeshit, and then they film the music video in the fucking Louvre with the Mona Lisa. You think saying apeshit in this movie