Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

As created by the vocally anti-Bush Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, this satire of the era’s machismo and anti-intellectualism stands as a key text amongst the contemporary satires of the Bush administration and the culture he defined. The hottest name in NASCAR racing, Ricky Bobby ( Ferrell) has it all—a hot wife, a posh life, and best friend Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly) as his loyal wingman—until flamboyant French Formula One driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) shows up to take it all away. “Talladega Nights may be brash, unbridled, even unhinged,” the Wall Street Journal proclaimed, “but its cornpone humor is rich in parody, and its craftsmanship is superb.”