Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen
“Shake and Bake” is back, but this time, the oven is electric. Talladega Nights 2: The Second Coming of Speed sees Will Ferrell return to the asphalt as the legendary Ricky Bobby, but the world of NASCAR has changed drastically since he last crossed the finish line. Now in his late 50s and running a failing chain of “Ricky Bobby’s American BBQ & Chiropractic Centers,” Ricky is a man out of time in a sport now dominated by silent electric vehicles, AI-assisted steering, and Gen Z influencers who care more about TikTok trends than torque.
John C. Reilly returns as the fiercely loyal but perpetually confused Cal Naughton Jr., who has been living in Ricky’s garage trying to invent a “magic windshield.” Their quiet retirement is shattered when their old nemesis, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), resurfaces. Now the arrogant CEO of a futuristic, eco-friendly European racing league, Girard challenges Ricky to one final race to prove that the era of the gas-guzzling American muscle car is dead and buried.
Forced to defend the honor of V8 engines and high-cholesterol patriotism, Ricky and Cal must get the old band back together. But the road to glory is bumpy: they have to navigate a world where pit crews are robots, sponsors pay in cryptocurrency, and “rubbing is racing” is now considered a micro-aggression. From disastrous attempts at driving simulators to a chaotic heist involving a museum-grade stock car, the duo proves that while they may have slower reflexes, they have bigger hearts (and much bigger egos).
Director Adam McKay (in a hypothetical return) cranks the satire up to eleven, taking aim at modern technology, cancel culture, and the aging ego of the American male. Fast, loud, and gloriously stupid, this sequel delivers a turbo-charged payload of absurdity, proving once and for all that you can take the driver out of the 2000s, but you can’t take the reckless stupidity out of the driver.