In 2006, around the time president George W. Bush was thanking his generals for “snatching the defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq”, Adam McKay received a surprise call from Michael Moore. McKay was then 36, having just released his second film as director, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which had an adorable, Bush-like character in the central role. Moore, whose anti-Bush political documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 had become a phenomenal success two years earlier, was at the peak of his fame as a left-wing icon.
“It was the day after Talladega Nights opened,” McKay would recall years later. “Moore called me and said, ‘You son of a bitch, you just made the most subversive movie in the country, and no one knows it’.”
Talladega Nights is a seemingly infantile comedy about a race-car driver from the Bible Belt who loves to pray as much as he brawls. “Dear Lord Baby Jesus,” says the dull-witted Bobby in one scene, “or as our brothers to the south call you, Jesús—we thank you so much for this bountiful harvest of Domino’s, KFC, and the always delicious Taco Bell. I just want to take time to say thank you for my family, my two beautiful, beautiful, handsome, striking sons, Walker and Texas Ranger, or T.R. as we call him, and of course, my red-hot smoking wife, Carly, who is a stone-cold fox!”
Esta historia es de la edición January 09, 2022 de THE WEEK.
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Ram temple not an issue in south
Much has been said this election season about the alleged north-south divide.
Haute and sweaty
In Mumbai, where I live and work, there is a severe heatwave going on. The highest temperature this month has been 40 degrees, sweltering and humid for the coastal city.
MOVE AWAY MARY!
In many parts of the world,unique names are becoming popular
CALL OF THE WILD
Tejas Thackeray, the younger son of former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, shares his passion for wildlife conservation and photography
CEPA and beyond
Bilateral trade between the UAE and India has grown almost 16 per cent year-on-year, touching $84.5 billion
Brash and raw
When I chanced upon Raj Narain, who humbled Indira Gandhi
Lone voice of dissent
“I am keen to invite Parakala [Prabhakar] to Mumbai… What do you think? Do you know him?” A friend asked. No, I don’t know the man. And no, it is not a good idea to invite him, unless you want to invite trouble, I replied.
Modi and the Muslim syndrome
I have long been intrigued by the prime minister’s desire to hug every passing sheikh and sultan and his contrasting contempt for the ordinary Indian Muslim.
Assam Rifles not trained to guard borders; need separate force for Manipur border
Imphal is blanketed in darkness. The sun has set a little too soon in the valley, but N. Biren Singh is yet to call it a day.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE SENTINELS
Manipur government wants the Assam Rifles replaced, but the Union home ministry is focused on upgrading infrastructure and connectivity before deciding who guards the state