The most iconic Ricky Bobby quotes from Talladega Nights are memorable snippets that describe both his outrageous character and the entire film. While Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s collaborations may be over, Talladega Nights remains one of their best projects together as well as perhaps their most underrated. The story of an arrogant NASCAR driver who needs to learn some humility is packed with laugh-out-loud moments and hilarious one-liners. While there are many funny performances, Ferrell’s Rick Bobby is obviously the star of the show. Ricky is one of Ferrell’s most memorable roles, and he has some of the funniest lines that people still quote today.
One sign of a good comedy is how quotable lines have remained funny. In that regard, there are endless hilarious Ricky Bobby quotes to cement Talladega Nights as a classic. While the movie has plenty of funny characters with memorable lines, the Ricky Bobby quotes remain memorable years later and still make audiences laugh out loud. Whether it’s the accent with which Ferrell busts them out, his facial expressions, or the antics of the character itself, there’s no question that Talladega Nights quotes are in line with the hilarity of the best Anchorman quotes. With so many great choices, it wasn’t hard to find hilarious quotes from Talladega Nights.
“Absolutely Ma’am. I’d Love To Sign Your Baby.”
One of the best Ricky Bobby quotes comes right at the beginning of Talladega Nights. The early scenes in the movie show Ricky’s quick rise to the top of the NASCAR world as one of its best drivers, and he becomes a huge celebrity with fans all around him at all times. While he might have been unsure at first, Ricky quickly takes to this new level of fame. Ricky happily signs autographs for a group of eager fans and loves the attention. He even excitedly agrees to sign the forehead of a fan’s baby and then suggests that they won’t want to wash the child anymore.
“I Was Gone For Three Hours!”
Just as quickly as Ricky’s career rises to great heights, it falls apart, resulting in some of the Talladega Nights best quotes. When Ricky Bobby is no longer the best racer around, it is not just his career that suffers but also his personal life. After being fired, Ricky returns home to find his best friend Cal in his house hanging out with his wife and kids like they are one big happy family. Cal and Carley then tell him that they are planning on getting married. Confused, Ricky points out that all this has happened when he’s been gone for only a few hours.
“The Ninjas Are Trying To Get Me.”
Will Ferrell comes up with one of the best Ricky Bobby quotes in the throes of paranoia. Following his devastating crash, Ricky loses his edge as a racer and has a hard time getting back behind the wheel. While such a reaction to a traumatic experience like that is to be expected, Ricky’s fear is all over the place. After trying out a practice run in which he fails to go more than a few miles per hour, Ricky strips naked in panic and runs out into the racetrack. For no particular reason, he starts raving about ninjas attacking him proving that he might not be ready to race again.
“Everyone Turn Away. Things Are Gonna Get Crazy. We’re Gonna Make Animal Noises.”
Talladega Nights is a comedy filled with some terrific actors, and it is especially fun seeing some up-and-coming talents appearing in smaller roles. While Amy Adams was on her way to becoming an iconic actor of the 2010s, she appeared as Ricky’s assistant Susan who becomes his love interest in a hilarious scene. While at a restaurant, Susan tries to reignite Ricky’s fire. Gradually, the two realize they share a mutual attraction and begin climbing on the table and making out, coming out with one of the best Ricky Bobby quotes. Ricky is courteous enough to warn the other patrons to look away from the bizarre love scene.
“Well, What Do You Say We Get Thrown Out Of An Applebee’s?”
The best Talladega Nights quotes have to do with the chaotic Bobby family. When Ricky’s father, Reese, comes back into his life, they attempt to have a father-son bond only for Reese to prove he is still an irresponsible and reckless man. At the end of the movie, when Ricky has won everything back that meant something to him, he knows that Reese isn’t going to change. However, Ricky seems to accept that his father is no role model and suggests the whole family go out together and get kicked out of Applebee’s. It is the kind of family outing that seems fitting for this clan.
“Shake And Bake!”
“Shake and bake!” is arguably one of the most memorable Ricky Bobby quotes. Talladega Nights may be about Ricky Bobby’s redemption as a racer, but it is also a buddy story between Ricky and his racing partner Cal Naughton Jr., played by Ferrell’s frequent comedy costar, John C. Reilly. These two men make for an unstoppable duo on the track and even come up with their own catchphrase. These best buddies are often yelling their saying “Shake and bake!” after every victory or really whenever they feel like it. Supposedly, the catchphrase is meant to speak to how well they go together.
“I Just Read In The Newspaper That They Put A Pig Heart In Some Guy In Russia.”
Despite his talent as a racer, Ricky Bobby can also be reckless, which doesn’t sit well with his team. Unfortunately, the fact that he keeps winning only fuels his ego and makes him feel invincible. And the more delusional he becomes, the funnier it is, resulting in the best Ricky Bobby quotes. After a particularly dangerous race, Ricky’s manager Lucius warns him against such moves and says that he won’t live forever. However, Ricky argues that with advances in science, anything is possible, and he’s even heard of a pig heart transplant. It’s a hilariously strange detail that is made even funnier as Ricky clarifies that the man died.
“You Sound Like A Dog With Peanut Butter On The Roof Of Your Mouth.”
One of the highlights of the movie is the rivalry between Ricky Bobby and the French racer, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), which often results in the best Ricky Bobby quotes. While Girard has admiration for his opponent, Ricky is immediately hostile to Girard and sees him as an outsider. When they first meet, Ricky shows his ignorance by talking down to Girard just because he is French. Ricky says can’t even understand the man just because he is speaking English with an accent. It is one of the strengths of the movie that studios are willing to make the lead character an uninformed buffoon.
“I’ve Lived My Whole Life By That!”
Despite barely knowing his own father, Reese, Ricky has always lived by the one piece of advice he gave Ricky, and one of the Talladega Nights best quotes: “If you’re not first, you’re last.” When his father shows back up in Ricky’s life later on, Ricky reminds him of those words he said to him years ago. However, Ricky’s father admitted he was high and pointed out how it doesn’t even make sense. These were the words Ricky lived his whole life by, and the fact that they are immediately deemed meaningless makes it a little sad — but mostly hilarious.
“Yup, Flying Through The Air. This Is Not Good.”
Though Adam McKay was mostly known for his comedic filmmaking at the time, Talladega Nights also showed he could handle action sequences. McKay delivers genuinely thrilling race scenes that would be worthy of the best car movies. The most impressive of them comes with Ricky’s devastating crash — leading to one of the best Ricky Bobby quotes. Viewers could be forgiven for momentarily forgetting they are watching a comedy as they see Ricky’s car flip through the air. But McKay is wise enough to add some levity in the intense moment as Ricky Bobby calmly sits in his airborne car and points out how bad this situation is.
“Well, Let Me Just Quote The Late-Great Colonel Sanders, Who Said… ‘I’m Too Drunk To Taste This Chicken.'”
Whether it’s Will Ferrell’s delivery or the actual line itself, one of the best Ricky Bobby quotes is also one of the few that barely makes sense. Something that the Adam McKay-Will Ferrell collaborations excel at is non-sequitur humor. This quote is a prime example of how they can make audiences laugh by saying something completely unexpected and unrelated to anything. While intellectual Frenchman Jean Girard quotes William Blake while the two battle it out in the bar scene, the less intellectual Ricky Bobby is forced to break out a more obscure quote — that is likely made up.
“This Sticker Is Dangerous And Inconvenient, But I Do Love Fig Newtons.”
The best Talladega Nights quotes also poke fun at the racing industry in general. It could be a fair accusation to say that Ricky Bobby is a sell-out. As a famous NASCAR racer, he will promote absolutely anything on his car. He even goes so far as to sell ad space on the windshield of his car, making driving difficult. Even Ricky has to admit that he might have gone too far and shows so regret. However, he also seems to justify it by insisting he does love Fig Newtons. It’s funny how Ricky Bobby is able to balance liking a product he’s endorsing and putting himself in incredible danger.
“It Won The Academy Award… Best Movie Ever Made.”
The rivalry between Ricky Bobby and Jean Girard unfolds as many classic sports rivalries do, usually resulting in some of the best Ricky Bobby quotes. With two successful athletes competing against each other, only one can be the victor. This also reminds Ricky Bobby of a film he apparently has a lot of love for. When Girard points out that only one of them can be the champion, Ricky says that this is very similar to The Highlander. Girard has never seen it, but Ricky insists it is great and the winner of the prestigious Oscar for “Best Movie of All-Time”. Of course, this is not an actual Oscar category.
“I Wake Up In The Morning And I P*** Excellence.”
Will Ferrell excels at playing obnoxiously arrogant men, which is usually how he’s able to throw out the best Talladega Nights quotes. Though Ricky Bobby may have started out as a somewhat timid pit crew member, his quick rise in the sport helps him develop a pretty big opinion of himself. This declaration of his greatness is a perfect display of why Ricky needed a little humbling. Ricky Bobby says this while being interviewed early on in the film after winning a race, preceded by “Here’s the deal, I’m the best there is.” Again, it doesn’t really mean anything, but he sure says it with a lot of confidence.
“Handsome, Beautiful, Articulate Sons, Who Are Talented And Star Athletes And They Have Their Legs Taken Away.”
Once Ricky Bobby’s downfall does come, it comes hard — but the arc does elicit some of the best Ricky Bobby quotes. After a terrible accident on the racetrack, Ricky convinces himself that he is paralyzed. His friends visit him to try to show him this is all in his head, but Ricky doesn’t take it well. Trapped in his own delusion, Ricky wishes that his friends have healthy and athletic boys only for them to lose their legs. It is a shockingly cruel thing to say to someone and Michael Clarke Duncan’s explosively angry reaction to it makes it all the more hilarious.
“From Now On, You’re The Magic Man And I’m El Diablo.”
While Ricky Bobby and Cal seem like inseparable friends in the beginning, their friendship soon falls apart after Ricky’s fall from grace. With Ricky out, Cal steps into his role as the star racer and even goes after Ricky’s wife. This causes breaks their friendship and seems impossible to fix. However, Cal eventually regrets what he did and suggests the return of their famous “Shake and Bake” catchphrase. Ricky refuses but introduces new nicknames for them in one of the Talladega Nights best quotes. The nicknames make even less sense, especially when Ricky insists El Diablo means “fighting chicken.”
“Dear 8 Pounds 6 Ounces Newborn Infant Jesus, Don’t Even Know A Word Yet”
One of the funniest scenes in the movie is Ricky’s long and utterly ridiculous blessing at the dinner table, resulting in a number of hysterical Ricky Bobby quotes. Ricky decides he can say grace to whichever version of Jesus he likes best, and for him, that’s the baby Jesus because it reminds him of Christmas. The prayer goes on to hilarious lengths as Ricky describes this infant version of Jesus he sees in his head. The scene only gets funnier when Ricky also insists Jesus had blonde hair and blue eyes, and that anyone at the table is allowed to pray to whichever version of Jesus they prefer.
“Tom Cruise, Use Your Witchcraft On Me To Get The Fire Off Me!”
Despite his crash being pretty horrific, Ricky escaped with little injury to his body. However, he doesn’t realize this and busts out one of the funniest Ricky Bobby quotes, which was probably improvised by Ferrell. Ricky emerges from the wreck thinking he’s on fire and proceeds to run around the racetrack in his underwear screaming to any god he can think of to save him. Though it’s hard not to sympathize with Ricky in his state of panic, it is not a very dignified look. It only gets worse when he can’t think of any more gods and starts praying to Tom Cruise.
“If You Don’t Chew Big Red, Then F*** You.”
Adam McKay skewers the overuse of advertisements in the racing industry while highlighting Ricky Bobby’s character with one of the funniest Ricky Bobby quotes. Another highlight of the movie comes with the many ads Ricky churns out, which is also a creative bit of product placement. As expected, these aren’t typical ads nor does Ricky feel the need to keep them family-friendly. By far the best and most outrageous ad comes from Ricky’s blunt selling of Big Red chewing gum. As crazy as the previous ads were, this one still takes the audience by surprise. Ferrell’s deadpan delivery sells it even more.
“I’m Not Sure What To Do With My Hands.”
Ferrell and McKay love making their characters look stupid, which is how the best Ricky Bobby quotes have come into being. Though he may be a good driver, Ricky is a screw-up in basically every other area of his life. His funniest blunder comes when he does his first on-camera interview as a racer. It’s such a funny moment, not only because of the ridiculousness but also because it’s relatable. Anyone who has had the spotlight on them and becomes a bit self-conscious can relate to Ricky’s awkward moment, as he declares after doing a weird bit that he doesn’t know what to do with his hands.
Why Ricky Bobby Is So Underrated
While Ricky Bobby quotes are memorable when it comes to Will Ferrell’s full roster of hysterical characters the Talladega Nights protagonist flies largely under the radar. Movies like Anchorman and Step Brothers are at the forefront of audiences’ minds when they think about Adam McKay and Will Ferrell’s most famous collaborations, and even iconic Will Ferrell characters. Viewers are much more likely to quote the hysterical Ron Burgundy from Anchorman when asked about their favorite Ferrell quotes, as this was the role that arguably rocketed the comedian to stardom. Nonetheless, Ricky Bobby is a classic Ferrell caricature that’s wholly underrated by the fanbase.
Funnily enough, audiences should be spouting out the best Talladega Nights quotes if the popularity of Ferrell’s characters were reflected by box office returns, as the film out-earned both Anchorman and Step Brothers. While Anchorman‘s popularity spawned a sequel, Talladega Nights made $163.3 million at the box office worldwide, whereas Anchorman made only $90.7 million and Step Brothers $128.1 million. Granted, Anchorman 2 made more money than Talladega Nights did, but a lot more people saw Ricky Bobby in theaters initially than they did Ron Burgundy or Brennan Huff. For whatever reason, however, Ricky Bobby remains one of the most underrated Will Ferrell characters.
