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August 20, 2006

Talladega Chili Peppers

I had no idea it would be so appropriate to combine reviews of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Talladega Nights

So I guess other folks have been hip to the whole Chad Smith - Will Ferrell thing for years. Or at least that's what the reactions of friends as well as the results of a couple web searches have led me to believe. But I can't say I've ever really paid attention to what the Chili Peppers' drummer looked like, and as this was the first time I'd seen them live, I really had no idea.

That is, Red Hot Chili Pepper drummer Chad Smith is an absolute dead ringer/ separated-at-birth/ evil twin for Will Ferrell. When he came on stage, I turned to my buddy and exclaimed, "Holy sh*t! The drummer looks exactly like Will Ferrell!" To which he replied, "Yeah, no kidding, I've thought so for years." Errr, okay. I guess I was a little late to that party. Late or not, I really can't emphasize this point enough: Chad Smith looks precisely like Will Ferrell. It was unnerving, to the point where it actually distracted me for a couple songs. It certainly didn't help that Smith was wearing this ridiculous denim car mechanic overalls getup (complete with silly denim hat) that might have been from the Osh Kosh B'Gosh Seniors collection. Essentially, he looked like he was straight out of the More Cowbell sketch from SNL.

Which, of course, begs the question, how has someone not gotten this together yet? That is, they need to get Will Ferrell to host SNL the same week that the Chili Peppers are the musical guest. Has this happened yet? If not, it really needs to. Like soon. This isn't even hard.

Beyond the celebrity look-alike thing, I was pretty fired up about the Chili Peppers show. If I had to offer a single summary statement on the show, it would be that it's a rare treat to see a rock band that actually features virtuoso musicians. For the avoidance of doubt, Flea and John Frusciante are extremely impressive up there. They're the show (Anthony Kiedis is an accessory -- and the fact that the show opens and closes without him on stage is a pretty clear testament to this). Of course, it certainly didn't hurt that we had tickets in the pit; I don't know if I would have had the same reaction sitting up on the lawn. All in all, if you have the means, the Chili Peppers are worth seeing live. Check plus!

(It's also worth noting that I finally caught Wolfmother live. It's pretty much exactly what you imagine, and it's pretty sweet. And not just because of their deeeeerty mustaches. Those guys were made for a giant stage, and they certainly embraced their shot. I'm just shocked it took a Snow Patrol cancellation to get them moved from the second stage; the second stage really wouldn't have done them any justice. This sort of mystical hooey requires, no, demands a big-time scene. Anyhoo.)

I also caught the other half of the Chad Smith-Will Ferrell separated-at-birth team this week. I suppose I'm just at the point where Will Ferrell movies get my ten bucks, without much complaint. I know what I'm getting, I know I'll laugh, and even if some of the signature gags are a little stale (I think I'm all laughed out on Will Ferrell running around in his tighty-whiteys), I'm pretty down with the general tone of the humor. Talladega Nights was exactly what I wanted it to be -- ten bucks well spent on a Thursday night. My Top-Three Takeaways:

1. Gary Cole (the boss from Office Space) is pretty hilarious as Ricky Bobby's deadbeat dad, though he was one of two people in the movie who seemed to essentially be playing another actor playing this role. That is, he seemed to be doing his best Billy Bob Thornton (circa Bad Santa and The Bad News Bears). Luckily, I'm pretty down with that character. Ditto for the woman who played Ricky Bobby's wife, who essentially was a riff on Jaime Pressly's thing from My Name Is Earl.

2. The Ali G guy needs to be in more movies. Immediately. Also, I laughed so much at the trailer for the Borat movie that I almost regret having seen it, if only because some of the jokes are now 8 percent ruined.

3. The gay jokes were pretty good, and I'm glad someone is making them (even if they occasionally lingered a bit too long). Someone has to call out middle America and its ridiculous wedge-issue Constitutional Amendment blasphemy on this, and what better place to do it than the NASCAR movie? And not even the one with Tom Cruise! (Look at me! I made a celebrity tabloid joke! Gawker here I come!)

I'm also planning to go to the movies this Friday, but I think that might demand its very own post. But it might contain phrases like "There are days when I think the entire world revolves around me." Stay tuned!

Posted by thatkid at August 20, 2006 12:24 PM under Stuff To Buy

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