Review of School of Life (2005) by Courtney W — 09 Aug 2006

[color=red]"You're not on fire Ricky Bobby!"[/color].

[color=#ff0000]My friends and I have been quoting that for months, so needless to say, we were stoked about finally seeing [i]Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. [/i]It was a fun movie, not uproariously funny, but I did laugh quite a bit. Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is loud, self-centered and obnoxious, thanks to a bumper sticker that his absentee father (Gary Cole) liked to quote. [/color].

[color=#ff0000]His wife Carly (Leslie Bibb) is a gold digger, his best friend Cal (John C. Reilly) is vacant and goofy ("Shake and Bake!) and his sons; Walker and Texas Ranger (T.R. for short) are foul-mouthed little ankle-biters ("If we wanted them to be sissies we would've named them Dr. Quinn and Medicine Woman!"). He meets his nemesis in a French, gay, former-Formula One driver named Jean Girard (the uber-weird Sacha Baron Cohen). When Ricky Bobby wrecks and undergoes psychological trauma (he thinks he's on fire, he thinks he is paralyzed and he can't drive fast), he has to find his way back to racing in time for Talladega.[/color].

[color=#ff0000]Admittedly, I did not like [i]Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy[/i] that much when I first saw it...but now I love it. I love it so. [i]Talladega Nights[/i], is a film I liked better when I first saw it, so maybe it too will grow on me more with time. The line about [i]Highlander[/i] winning the Oscar for the best movie of all time cracked me up, though.[/color].

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[color=#ff0000]We rented [i]School of Life[/i] last night, featuring the hot Ryan Reynolds (one of Sarah's many toyboys). It's a pretty low-rent feature, but nonetheless entertaining. He is the "cool" teacher Mr. D at a middle school. He reinacts civil war battles and dresses up like Abraham Lincoln. He doesn't assign seats. And this threatens, Mr. Warner (David Paymer), because he wants to follow in his father's footsteps and win the student appointed award of "Favorite Teacher." His father, Stormin' Norman, won it like 34 times in a row. It's entertaining, but a bit on the melodramatic side. But still cute.[/color].

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[color=#ff0000]I will be back soon, we are going to watch movies at Sarah and Josh's house tomorrow![/color].

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[color=#ff0000]Laters.[/color].

[color=#ff0000]Court[/color].