More Bewitched than Anchorman

Rating: 6/10 (9 August 2006)

This movie was kind of a disappointment. I was rather expecting the off the wall humor of Anchorman, and what I got was essentially a comic retread of Days of Thunder with some elements of The Program mixed in. The worst elements of The Program, mind you; the whole story line about the father was rehashed in this movie. This was kind of a problem, as it stopped the best characters from interacting. The supporting cast should have been enough to make this the best comedy of the year, but Molly Shannon, Greg Germann, Sacha Baron Cohen, and even John C O'Reilly (to an extent) were way underutilized. And how do you have Andy Richter in a movie and not give him anything at all to say or do?
As for NASCAR fans (of which I am one of), much of the comedy is targeted at the commercialization rampant in the sport, from the car sponsors to the TV commercials during the race - it doesn't rely on stereotyping the fans very much. The racing isn't terribly realistic (I don't think you can slingshot anywhere anymore, let alone Talladega), but it's not much worse than Days of Thunder...and this at least is a comedy.
All in all, the movie could have been better had they cut out the "heart" of the movie and just went for broke like they did with Anchorman - the best parts (such as the sponsor ads) have nothing at all to do with anything. As it stands, there are laughs to be had, but it just isn't the off-the-wall ride that Anchorman was.