If you enjoyed "Anchorman" then you will most likely enjoy this

Rating: 9/10 (19 August 2006)

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is an entertaining delight. If you like "dumb" comedies, you will likely enjoy this. The same two people who co-wrote "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (Adam McKay and Will Ferrell) co-wrote this, so if you enjoyed the first movie in the "Mediocre American Man" trilogy, you will enjoy this. You do not have to be a Nascar fan to enjoy this. You just have to like the Will Ferrell type movie.
If you are looking for a plot, look somewhere else because you have wasted your time and money. If you are someone who complains about the plot, in a comedy by Will Ferrell, you might as well complain about how donuts do not have enough nutrition or how "Bad Santa" did not have scenes appropriate for children. This plot is similar to "Anchorman" and other sports movies as well. Here you have a man at the top of his game, he hits a little snag, and the rest just explains how he slowly moves up until he is at the top again. The plot may not be Academy Award winning but who goes to see a Will Ferrell movie for its "rich" plot?
Will Ferrell plays Ricky Bobby, a redneck Nascar driver with the perfect name, amazingly and again shows how funny he is with his improvisations and random comments. This was not surprising considering that I have loved him sense his days on "Saturday Night Live." He is great playing a lovable moron, as shown in movies such as "Elf" or "Anchorman." I could tell he had a lot of fun working on this project.
The supporting cast made this funnier. Ricky's two sons, Walker (Houston Tumlin) and Texas Ranger (Grayson Russell) were very rude and profane and my favorite supporting characters. John C. Reilly as Cal, Ricky's best friend, was also great and had very nice chemistry with Will. Sacha Baron Cohen as a gay French Nascar driver made a great villain. Reese and Lucy Bobby played by Gary Cole and Jane Lynch, Ricky's parents, were entertaining especially Reese. Michael Clarke Duncan, as Lucius Washington, and Amy Adams, as Susan, were great as assistants to Ricky Bobby. Leslie Bibb as Carley Bobby was also funny. Even Molly Shannon (who was on "Saturday Night Live" with Ferrell) had a humorous part as Mrs. Dennit.
I do not have any complaints about "Talladega Nights." It did its job, which was to entertain, and it did it well. However, if I had to make one complaint, it would be that there were numerous scenes shown in the trailers that were not shown in the movie. This is not a bad thing, because I know the DVD will be loaded with deleted scenes. The more I think about it, the more I realize this was not a negative because it made the movie more random.
In conclusion, "Talladega Nights" had me laughing the hardest out of everything I have seen this year. If you are looking for a love story about two men hanging out on a mountain, this is not what you are looking for. If you can laugh at Will Ferrell being a redneck Nascar driver, you are in the right place. If redneck or gay jokes easily offend you, this is not for you. I also suggest not bringing children, this is not a family movie, it is a PG-13 rated comedy for a good reason. If you want a family PG-13 movie, go see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." I want to see "Talladega Nights" again just to find any jokes I missed!