Another winner for Ferrell and McKay.

Rating: 9/10 (18 August 2007)

I can't explain or rationalise exactly why, but I love the absurdist humour of Will Ferrell. And Talladega Nights is right up there with Ferrell's amazing Anchorman as one of the dumbest, craziest and funniest films that I've seen.
Ferrell plays Ricky Bobby, a pit-stop engineer whose life radically changes when he is given the chance to drive in a Nascar race. He does so well that he is made a permanent driver and pretty soon he is living the high life. Married to a blonde bimbo, with two kids and massive bank account, Bobby thinks his life is perfect.
But when his place as numero uno on the Nascar circuit is threatened by gay French Formula 1 expert Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), Ricky Bobby's 'perfect' life begins to fall apart.
Ferrell is very much a 'love-him-or-loathe-him' kind of performer, and if you haven't enjoyed his previous films, then there's a good chance that this one will leave you unimpressed. But if you're a fan of the madcap performer's zany style, then Talladega Nights is a surefire winner.
Directed by Adam McKay (who also helmed Anchorman), this laugh-a-minute gag-fest mercilessly rips into the world of Nascar racing, mocking both those who make a living from the sport, and its dedicated fans. But it also has a heart, as we see Bobby learn from his mistakes and, by the end of the film, find true happiness.
Very occasionally, some of the humour is laboured a tad too much, and a couple of the gags fall a little flat, but with so many genuinely hilarious moments to make your sides ache, one can easily forgive a dud joke or two. Talladega Nights isn't quite the virtually flawless, high-performance laugh machine that is Anchorman, but it's damn close.
8.5 out 10, rounded up to 9 for IMDb.