Good, not great Farrell outing

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 2006)

I had extremely high expectations for this film, as "Anchorman", by the same creative team, is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. The final product is funny, yes, but not nearly as funny as "Anchorman". Ferrell seems a little flat here, which may be on-purpose, as his character is supposed to be a dimwit. The insane comedic talent of some of his earlier work is peculiarly missing from most of his performance. The real standouts are his best friend, the father, and of course, the great Sasha Baron Cohen as the French racer. They really shine with this material, whereas Ferrell was just okay. The endless product placement might have been meant as a parody of the product placement in NASCAR, but was kind of just annoying in the context of film. Again, a funny film in its own right, but definitely seemed to lack something.