Lead Blog Post Oct. 21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx1h_nKxLdUxLdU

           For my lead blog post, I chose the "Grace" scene from "Talladega Nights". For years and years, I have loved all of Will Ferrell's comedy including "Talladega Nights", "Step Brothers", and "Semi-Pro". For a little background on the movie, there is a man named Ricky Bobby who's dream is to drive a race car competitively. The closest he gets is on the pit crew with his best friend, Cal. During one of the races, the driver gets out of the car and leaves the race, which leaves an opening for somebody to get in and win the race. Ricky Bobby takes the opportunity and goes for it. Ricky ends up winning the race, and signing a contract with a racing team. He goes on to make a lot of money in a very short amount of time. He receives endorsements from just about all of the name brands. With the money he makes, he buys a gigantic house, and has lavish dinners, setting up the dinner scene.

            Every time I see this scene,  I laugh uncontrollably, no matter where I am or who I am with. I think the humor is found in how unreal and unnecessary the prayer is. I guess my opinion is a little biased due to the fact that I grew up in a family where my dad said a very generic prayer before every family meal. Now, when I see the clip from the movie, I am completely shocked at what happens. After Ricky Bobby begins his prayer with "Dear Lord Baby Jesus or as our brothers to the south call you 'Jeezus'", I become hooked, wanting to know what he's going to say next. He continues his prayer, but keeps going, making more and more remarks similar to the first, things that should not be included in a prayer. As I listen to Ricky's prayer, I wonder about one thing: how far is he going to go? 

            I also find humor through the superiority theory. Because of my biased opinion on what a prayer should look like, I find Ricky's prayer outrageous. I see his prayer as wrong, so naturally I find humor in that. The moment where I feel the most superior is when they stop the prayer just to talk about what they think Jesus looks like. Cal says "I picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt", which is something that would never be said in a traditional prayer. Once we answer the question of how far is Ricky going to go, we need to try and answer the question of how far is too far? I think that the only way a joke goes too far is if it becomes offensive to someone else, but this also is a personal opinion.