Issue Date: December 17, 2006
Getting back on track
A sports psychologist's second opinion on "Talladega Nights"
An uncut version of "Talladega Nights," with Will Ferrell, above, is out on Blu-ray Disc.
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THE PLOT: Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is a half-witted NASCAR star whose career is derailed by a gay, macchiato-sipping Formula One racer (Sacha Baron Cohen). After a traumatic crash, Ricky's dad (Gary Cole) employs extreme tactics to boost his son's confidence.
GUEST COMMENTATOR: John F. Murray is a sports performance psychologist who designs mental techniques to help athletes accomplish their goals. In 2005, he resurrected American tennis pro Vincent Spadea from a 21-match losing streak to a career-best No. 18 ranking.
OVERVIEW: "The movie is an amazing satire. I can relate to the sports angle -- the misconceptions, the mind games -- and the extreme perfectionism."
Scene 4: ... Excellence -- Ricky tells a reporter he's the best there is. "I'm just a big, hairy, American winning machine," he says.
"In public, I wouldn't want [my clients] to come out like that and be that brash. But I want them thinking like that. I want them to be that confident."
Scene 15: Face the Fear -- After a crash, Ricky's dad helps him overcome his fear of speed by, among other things, placing a wild cougar next to Ricky in the passenger seat.
"That fear state after a crash is not uncommon. The dad's strategy is to have him confront the fear. What I would do with Ricky is get him in the office for a mental skills evaluation. I'd figure out what he's afraid of and design a program to address the fears through systematic desensitization or relaxing him and having him imagine himself achieving his goals." -- David Andrukonis
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