Sometimes, stupid jokes are brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (15 August 2006)

I was not expecting to enjoy this movie as much as I did. As I reflected on it, I figured out why. This is broad comedy - but broad comedy written and performed by sophisticated people.
Every comic thread in the movie has a social critique behind it. Yes, the movie has more product placements than any movie ever made. But that is just a satire of NASCAR itself, where the cars and drivers are 100% laden with ads. Every square inch of a NASCAR race car has an ad on it - so every square inch of this movie has a product placement.
The movie lampoons the fascination with Applebees that seems to be a part of blue-collar culture in parts of the South (they could have used Olive Garden to the same effect), it lampoons the religious right (the grace scene is absolutely hilarious), and the "invisible" fire shtick is a comedic riff on something that actually does happen (albeit in Indy Car racing). Indy cars use ethanol fuel, which burns clear blue - very hard to see. Years ago I remember watching a race where the driver actually was on fire and hopping around, and the announcers were explaining that you can't see the burning ethanol on TV.
There is actually intelligent social commentary undergirding the jokes.
If you've never watched NASCAR or never spent time in the South, you might not get some of the jokes.
If you're a huge NASCAR fan, you might not realize when the movie is making fun of you and your friends (and you might not appreciate it when you do!)
But if you've watched enough NASCAR to know that you don't like it; if you think of NASCAR as professional wrestling on wheels (complete with "bad guy" and "good guy" drivers), you'll love this movie.
And if you stop to think about WHY the jokes were put in the movie, if you think about the social critique the movie is offering, you won't even have to feel guilty about having laughed as hard as you did!