Didn't live up to the expectations (for me)

Rating: 6/10 (4 August 2006)

I'm a huge Will Ferrell fan. I've liked (loved?), and laughed at, most of his movies. Talledega Nights, however, just didn't live up to the expectations I had going in. I'm not sure if this a problem with me or the movie itself.
In a nutshell, the movie simply wasn't as funny as I was hoping it to be. I really thought I'd be treated to the same level of hilarity that I found in "The Anchorman" (for example). Sadly, that wasn't the case. While there are certainly some gut busting moments, when viewed as a whole it just wasn't firing on all cylinders (pun intended). There were several stretches of the movie where I found myself barely chuckling, and _almost_ wondering when it was going to be over.
I thought many of the characters, notably Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Mrs. Dennit (Molly Shannon), were under utilized. I also felt like the ad-libbing (if such was the case) simply wasn't gelling as well as it has in previous Ferrell vehicles.
In the end, it's a moderately funny movie (with a few gems), but don't expect anything on the level of "The Anchorman" or "Old School".
I gave it a 6/10.