Rather inconsistent, but a mostly fun, silly romp

Rating: 7/10 (15 November 2008)

This 2006 comedy starring Will Ferrell has the same kind of title as another film starring the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian, 2004's "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy". Both were co-written by Ferrell and Adam McKay. As popular as the first effort of the two is, I've never cared for it. It appears "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is not as popular, but I definitely like it better. Before seeing it, I knew Sacha Baron Cohen was also featured in the cast, so there were two comedians in the film who had made me laugh several times before, and although the film didn't look so promising at times, it still satisfied.
Ricky Bobby is the son of an enthusiastic race driver named Reese Bobby. During his childhood, he is raised by this mother, Lucy, and doesn't usually see his father, but one time when he does, he is told that if you don't come in first place, you come in last place! Now a man, Ricky works on the pit crew of what is currently the worst NASCAR team, but when he gets to drive in a race, he willingly takes the chance. Although he hasn't seen his father in a long time, he still remembers what he told him. He takes that advice and quickly becomes NASCAR's top racer! His best friend, Cal Naughton Jr., doesn't seem to have a problem always coming in second (or does he?), and at one race, Ricky meets a woman named Carley and soon marries her. Life is going swell for Ricky, until he meets a French racer named Jean Girard, who brings him out of the top spot!
At the beginning, I found Reese Bobby racing in a car with his pregnant wife in the back seat and going right past the hospital pretty amusing, and in the next scene, with Ricky as a kid, and his father coming it to talk to his class, is also good for laughs. After that, much of the early part of the film seemed a bit bland, not quite funny enough to fully satisfy me, but fortunately, it doesn't stay like that. A number of gags are highlights, such as an argument at the table over Ricky referring to Jesus as "Baby Jesus" in his grace, Ricky's delayed reaction to a knife he sticks in his leg, and Reese making his son escape from the police! Ricky's two hyperactive sons may not always be funny with their antics, but often are, and can provide more comic highlights. When Sacha Baron Cohen first appears as Jean Girard, the film seems to get better than it has been for a while, as he once again shows his comedic talent! One of the memorable gags involving his character is when he holds Ricky down, threatening to break his arm if he doesn't say what he tells him to say, but promises to let him go if he says it, and Ricky is very stubborn.
It's popular for modern comedies to be silly, crude, and immature, and you can be sure "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is one of those, but it's one of the stronger efforts in this category. Some of them are better, but some of them fail miserably at trying to be funny (if they even try to be funny at all), and fortunately, that does not include this particular comedy. If you can't stand Will Ferrell and his usual antics, there would probably be no exception here, but for those who find him funny (or sometimes funny), and you like silliness, you could find yourself laughing a lot while watching "Talladega Nights". If you like Sacha Baron Cohen, that may be a bonus. Some obviously despise this 2006 race car comedy, but in my opinion (and I'm certainly not alone), it's quite funny overall. At any rate, it's much better than several other juvenile comedies I've seen!