"Dear sweet, 8lb 6 oz, tiny, infant Jesus..."

You may not have seen the movie, but you surely know the man...Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Starring Will Ferrell. This man is one of the silliest stars in Hollywood today. If you are familiar with him at all, you know not to take any of his projects seriously. I was watching Fox News this week and saw clip of a film critic from movieguide.org talking with an anchor about this movei. The topic was so absurd I had to stay and hear the man out: the critic was saying that not only is Will Ferrell a racist, but the film is anti-Christian. He said Ferrell should apologize for the film, like Ron Howard should apologize for the DaVinci Code and Mel Gibson for his drunken tirade (which, may I point out, he has.) The anchor pointed out that this is comedy, it is satire. The critic rebutted with the point that Jewish persecution in Germany began wth satire. This man actually likened Will Ferrell to Hitler! He continued, saying anti-Christian messages are permeating our entertainment and corrupting our children. Now, the latter point I am not totally against. I don't know if it's there is an active anti-Christian message in entertainment today, or just an apathetic one. But the idea that a white man is racist against white males is just silly. The idea of a Will Ferrell comedy being taken seriously is just ridiculous. This film makes fun of a slice of the population. What comedy doesn't? Remember the movie Friday? No one accused Ice Cube of being racist against black people. A great gift in life is the ability to laugh at yourself. But this movie makes fun of Southerners, not Christians. Being raised not only Christian, but southern also, I was not offended. On the contrary, I was quite entertained. I may have gotten more of the jokes than many of my friends. I think rednecks are funny. Many Americans do. Heck, Jeff Foxworthy, a self-proclaimed redneck, has made a career out of making fun of rednecks! The news anchor conducting the interview referenced Ferrell's previous hit, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy, saying it made fun of news people. He said it did not offend him, as a news anchor, nor did he believe it made people dislike news people any more than they already do. He wasn't buyin this any more than I am.
During the first part of the movie, Will's character, Ricky, is obsessed with winning. He loves making money, having a "red hot smokin' wife" and disrespectful children. He claims he's "raising winners." Their names are Walker and Texas Ranger, for goodness sake! That should prove to anyone the silliness of the film! This character also prays before dinner...just before listing to his 10-year-old tell him he "made that prayer his b****." I don't know if the paradox is intentional or not. Knowing the wit of Ferrell, it probably is. I guess people don't realize that praying before dinner is not just something "good Christians" do. In the south especially, being any kind of "Christian" at all can be social or just habit. I'm not saying Southerners are not devout, sincere Christians. If you've read my mother's blog you know that the 2 often coexist. But, the movie mocks southerners, not Christians. And, yes there is some overlapping of sorts, but the message is hardly 'anti'-Christian. If the critic had bothered to pay attention to the second half of the movie, he would have noticed that Ricky's mother uses church and Sunday school to reform her wild and disrespectful grandchildren.
Now, I will contend there was some irreverence, but again, that is to be expected of Ferrell. When Ricky prays, he insists on praying to the "baby Jesus." In the middle of his dinner prayer, after he has made a number of references to the baby Jesus, he wife interrupts, "baby, you do know Jesus grew up? He's not a baby anymore," to which Ricky replies, he likes the Christmas Jesus the best and he will pray to whichever Jesus he wants. I think it is totally valid to think of Christ in different forms. He embodies all forms. I don't see why it is unreasonable to think a man cannot talk to Jesus in the manner that makes him most comfortable. I find it offensive that this critic implies there is a right and wrong way to talk to God. His prayer may be mildly irreverent, but he is heartfelt, and thanks Jesus for each member of his family, for his friends, for his successful career.
Bottom line, as a Christian, or more appropraite to this film, as a Southerner, I was not offended. I think by now we are all familiar enough with Will Ferrell to expect nothing less and nothing more than silliness and entertainment. He's no master of social commentary but of social scrutiny. Honesty is sometimes the funniest and hardest pill to swallow.