If you get a kick out of Ferrell stabbing himself to prove that he is paralyzed, this film is for you

Rating: 7/10 (7 August 2006)

If you don't chew Big Red, then **** you. That's just one of the several humorous one-liners that are sprinkled throughout the silly and sometimes downright-hilarious Talladega Nights. Powered by a stellar cast and more product placement moments than one can count, this film spoofs the sports drama genre and also spoofs the sport of Nascar. Will Ferrell provided his writing skills as well as his acting chops, but it's really all the acting in the film that keeps Talladega from running out of gas. More or less, this is the Nascar version of Anchorman, except for the fact that it does not borrow jokes from other television shows.
Talladega Nights is about a hotshot driver by the name of Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) whom with the help of his best friend, a fellow Nascar driver himself, he rises to the top of the racing world, and along the way marries a beautiful women and has children that could have been spawns of Satan. But, his success is short-lived when Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), a really good driver from France, moves to the United States and gives him a run for his money. Bobby's driving skills, devotion, and courage is put to the test as the new threat charges his way to conquer the racing world. Written by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, who worked together on Anchorman and Saturday Night Live, they leave plenty of room for improvising and random moments of humor, and oddly enough those scenes are what delivers more than anything else.
Quite frankly, where the writing and directing and pacing fails, it's made-up for by the acting. Whether it's the awesome improvising skills of Ferrell, John C. Reilly (portraying his best friend), Cohen, or even Michael Clarke Duncan (Yes folks, he is actually funny), it is guaranteed that the best moments of the film involve them just playing around, having fun, drifting off on very silly tangents; which includes interpretations of Jesus and deep dark secrets. The races themselves are well-directed, credit should be given to McKay for at least providing a share of in-your-face moments when the crashes lunges right at the camera on several occasions with enough realism to almost temporarily suck out all the humor at the moment. The soundtrack in the film is actually very good, as it mixes some AC/DC, Chicago, and even some Saliva. Good soundtrack, plenty of good one-liners, plenty of off-the-wall humor; the last time a sports comedy successfully mixed this together was The Waterboy, an Adam Sandler hit years ago.
Unfortunately though, like most comedies, even spoofs, there are those slow moments that just slow down the film to a point in which its almost unbearable. The relationship between Bobby and his father is thrown in, and despite the father being a fairly funny character; he gives Talladega Nights a hint of unnecessary sentimental value. Then there are other moments in which they are spoofing dramatic moments from other films, so it is confusing as to when the movie should be taken seriously, if it should ever be taken seriously. You'll even get to see Duncan in tears, but thankfully that was during the best moment in the movie.
Bottom Line: One-liners up the ying-yang carries this movie from reaching certain doom, and also might even inspire a second viewing to catch all the witty dialogue exchanged amongst the more talented improvisers. Don't let the product placements fool you either; they are all there for a reason. Ferrell is a whiz at entertaining the audience, but it is not just him making the audience laugh, most of the supporting cast lent their comedic chops and with plenty of success. While the film could have been shorter, and also could have done without the family theme, it is still worthy of viewing on the big screen at least once. While the summer is ending, the barrage of good summer flicks in the 2006 season has yet to end, as Talladega Nights will not disappoint as long as you are a fan of Will Ferrell and are not expecting Frasier-like sophisticated humor.
"Shake...AND bake!"