Reviews and More

Like most people, my husband and I are always on the lookout for ways to trim our expenses and save money. Finding ways to save by cutting out the extras is easy, so we don’t focus on that part too much. Instead, we try to save money on the necessities that really drain our bank account, things like auto, life, and home insurance.

These are all policies that we need, but there’s definitely some wiggle room in there and we’ve learned that we can often save money simply by shopping around. Instead of being “loyal” to insurance providers that don’t do anything to make our lives easier and that drag their feet whenever we make a claim, we don’t hesitate to get online and compare car insurance or life insurance rates to make sure we’re getting the best deals available to us. We rarely hold onto long-term policies if we can help it, because we don’t want to get stuck paying higher premiums than we have to.

If you want to free up some extra money in your budget, then I recommend giving this approach a try. I think you might be surprised at how much money you can save on insurance when you actively shop around for the best rates. Plus, I believe that doing this helps keep rates competitive, so go for it!

I’m not really a big fan of Will Ferrell’s, or of car racing, for that matter, so it wasn’t surprising that I passed on Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby during its first run through theaters. I also stayed away when the film first came out on DVD (despite the generally good word-of-mouth buzz I heard), but finally caved in last weekend when it was my husband’s turn to choose our Saturday night movie. What was surprising in all of this was how likable I found Will Ferrell and how decent the movie was on the whole.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): As the film opens, Ricky Bobby (played by Ferrell) is part of the pit crew for a losing NASCAR team. When the team’s driver decides that he would rather sit down for a sandwich during a pit stop than finish the race, Ricky Bobby seizes the opportunity to get behind the wheel and show everyone what he can do. He goes from dead last all the way up to third place in that race, and is immediately signed to a contract with Dennitt Racing.

Once officially signed, Ricky Bobby starts putting up incredible results, winning race after race and earning millions of dollars. He soon has a gorgeous wife, two kids, a mansion, and all the comforts he could ever dream of. Ricky Bobby was even able to get his best friend Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly) a ride with the team as well.

This being a sports movie (sort of), there was only one way for Ricky Bobby to go from there. For one thing, his team owner hires Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), a French Formula One driver, to come in and try to win the title. Jean Girard is actually a good driver, and he gets inside Ricky Bobby’s head a bit too much, which in part causes Ricky Bobby to crash during a subsequent race. This leads to a hospital stay during which Ricky Bobby decides to give up racing because he thinks he’s paralyzed.

From there, the movie shows Ricky Bobby slowly sinking down until he hits rock bottom (which in this case means losing his license, delivering pizzas on bicycles, getting divorced from his wife, having his best friend marry his ex and move into his old mansion, and having to live with his mom. And then we get to see him fight his way back to the circuit and back to the winner’s circle (well, almost). Pretty standard fare here.

My Reaction: This being a comedy, I really didn’t expect much in the way of a true plot — and I didn’t get one either. There are only so many ways a sports movie can play out, so the plot wasn’t the key point in Talladega Nights; the jokes and gags were. So the big question for me was, were the jokes funny? I guess many of them were, but a bunch of them fell flat, too.

I saw this movie just a couple days ago, but I’ve already forgotten most of the gags. The moments that stand out are: when Ricky Bobby stabs himself in the leg because he believes he’s paralyzed; Ricky Bobby taking the bus and using a bicycle to deliver pizzas; learning to drive with a cougar in the car; and the final race where Ricky Bobby and Jean Girard crawl over the finish line.

I also thought the pacing was off in many places, most noticeably in that first dinner table scene where Ricky Bobby took forever to say grace. That bit was far too long, and felt like a Saturday Night Live sketch that overstays its welcome. If that scene had been cut, along with a few others, then maybe the movie could have had a much more reasonable running time instead of the nearly two-hour affair that it turned out to be.

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed watching Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby for the most part. It was fun and entertaining, especially if you go in without too many expectations. I give the film 6.5 stars out of 10 and recommend that you see it if you haven’t done so yet!

Have you seen any trailers for the upcoming Michael Sellers film called Eye of the Dolphin? I caught one on YouTube earlier today and think this movie is going to be something special. It stars Carly Schroeder (whom I just saw in Firewall) as a 15-year-old girl named Alyssa who is having trouble adjusting to all the changes in her life that result from her mother’s death. She gets expelled from school in L.A. and is forced to go live with her father (played by Adrian Dunbar) in the Bahamas. The problem is, neither she nor her father are ready for this new relationship, so they end up fighting about almost everything. Alyssa hates her new life, but then things take a surprising turn when she befriends an orphaned wild dolphin, an action that has several unforeseen consequences.

After watching the trailers, I checked around for some early reviews from critics that were able to see advanced screenings of Eye of the Dolphin. Response to the film has been overwhelmingly positive, with people calling it an inspirational coming-of-age story that is perfect for the whole family.

I’ve heard that you can even enter a drawing to win free movie tickets to see Eye of the Dolphin in a theater near you. All you have to do is click through that link I just posted, enter your name and email address, and select a local theater from a drop-down list on the site. Winners of the free passes will be drawn at random, so you’ve got as good a shot as anyone else!

Even if you don’t win free passes, you should definitely check the film out when it opens on August 24. Take a look at the Eye of the Dolphin trailer below to get a better feel for the themes the film deals with.

Last night’s episode of Entourage was called “The Young and the Stoned,” and was for the most part another throwaway transitional ep that didn’t really help move any of the season-long story arcs forward. In this ep, Vinnie and Johnny stayed in the background for a change, while E, Ari, Mrs. Ari, and Turtle had bigger roles. Here’s a look at what happened on the show.

Eric: Vinnie received an advance for his upcoming role in Lost in the Clouds, so the boys are rolling in dough again. To celebrate, Vinnie just bought (or rented) a new house, which Eric has trouble finding. As he’s slowly driving around looking for the place, he gets rear-ended by someone who turns out to be actress Anna Faris. She doesn’t have her wallet with her, so she just gives E her phone number and says they can work out the details later. Eric, who thinks they connected and shared a “moment,” readily agrees.

But when he tries calling her that evening, he discovers that she gave him the wrong number. Eric’s not going to be put off like that, so he finds her home address by checking one of those tourist maps that list the stars’ homes. Anna apologizes for the mistake, saying it was unintentional. When she learns that E is actually in the biz, she warms up to him a bit, and even gets a ride from him to her next meeting.

On the way, they start talking about scripts and learn that Eric actually read the script for the movie Anna is supposed to start shooting next. He tells her he didn’t like it, explains why, and she ends up bailing on the project. They have dinner together later, where Eric learns that Anna has a steady boyfriend. As a consolation, however, Anna signs him on as her manager.

Ari/Mrs. Ari Mrs. Ari was apparently a minor soap opera star before settling down with Ari. In this ep, she gets a call from her former producer telling her that they’re doing a 35-year special episode of The Young and the Restless, and they want Mrs. Ari to reprise her old role. She agrees, despite Ari’s objections that she’s too old and fat to be filmed in hi-def!

Then later, when Ari realizes that one of Mrs. Ari’s scenes involves her kissing a 19-year-old Latino stud, he races down to the studio to try to get her to back out. Mrs. Ari refuses to cave, so Ari goes to the other actor instead and promises to rep the guy and get him a role on Ugly Betty if he doesn’t kiss Mrs. Ari on the lips!! But Mrs. Ari learns what’s up and gets her way in the end.

Turtle: Turtle goes to the store with a cannister full of weed, picks up some girls by promising them a party with Vinnie Chase, gets pulled over by a cop, is let off with a warning because he dumps the weed in a sewer, and waits for the cop to leave so he can double back and scoop up his drugs.

My Reaction: There were some funny moments in this episode, but again, I’m feeling like we’re just kind of adrift here in Season 4. When are they going to follow through with Medellín? I think the real Cannes film festival is held in May, but I pray to God that the show doesn’t drag things out until then. The Entourage reality doesn’t follow a real-life calendar, does it?

Eric was somewhat tolerable for the second week in a row! I think I like him better when he’s not handling any of Vince’s affairs. Maybe it would be better for the show to have him branch out like this. So now that he’s managing Anna Faris, does that mean she’s going to be a regular guest star? How’s that gonna work? Or maybe he’ll screw something up and she’ll dump his ass in a couple of weeks.

Ari was Ari again. I loved how he offered to get that Latino guy on Ugly Betty, LOL!!! But he really needs to learn how to talk to his wife. Why would he call her old and fat right to her face, especially when she’s obviously neither? And he wonders why he has to beg for BJs!!!

While these filler eps are entertaining, I’d just as soon get back to the bigger storylines… maybe next week will do the trick!