Almost as boring as watching NASCAR.

Rating: 3/10 (3 August 2006)

I love lamp. Brick killed a man. Milk was a bad choice: A whole host of lines entered our collective lexicon after the brilliant Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Sadly, I do not foresee this happening with Talladega Nights : The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - because, quite frankly, there is nothing memorable about this movie.
The acting and comedic talent is top-notch, the premise brilliant, the legacy grand. The outcome, not so much. The film tries so very hard to be edgy, but it comes out flaccid. I have a theory that much was edited to keep the slew of corporate sponsors, and the chance to shoot on real NASCAR tracks. Maybe the Frat Pack made the film to finance some true debauchery and depravity. Maybe the slew of sponsors is part of a subversive joke, but certainly not one in the vein of Anchorman. Maybe being unimaginably dull is part of the joke.
Maybes aside, I will not to say the film is completely bad. Some of the situations will make it much more fun to actually watch audience reactions than the movie itself. A handful of political jabs and international ribbing really make up the bulk of the "in-your-face" humor, the rest being situational improv (that doesn't pan out well and is often far too drawn out) and stereotypical jokes which feel so obvious it's almost offensive (but, to my disappointment, they never really are). This is before mentioning that the movie is almost as boring as actually watching NASCAR.
This movie SHOULD be good. It has everything going for it: great comedians, a cast and crew of impeccable history, and the idea to knock on a "sport" that takes itself a bit too seriously. I must report, however, that none of this pans out, and leaving the theater almost seems liberating- the liberation of leaving a film knowing we ALL make mistakes.