"Momma, I'm going' fast!"

Rating: 8/10 (12 August 2006)

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is without a doubt the funniest film of 2006. If you liked Anchorman and The 40-Year-Old Virgin and seeing Will Ferrell play a silly Nascar driver sounds funny to you then you better rush out to the theater and check this one out. I haven't laughed this hard, or consistently since Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang; Talladega Nights is the one of the best rides of the summer. Will Ferrell plays Ricky Bobby, a superstar Nascar racer that fires up the race track winning race after race will the help of his trusty sidekick and long time best friend Cal Naughton, Jr., played well by John C. Reilly. The two are a dynamic duo in the race world and things seemed to going great, that is until a gay French Formula One racer named Jean Girard, played by a slimy Sacha Baron Cohen, with a ridiculously hilarious accent. Jean hits the Nascar circuit like a hurricane and just like that, Ricky Bobby finds himself out of the league and forced to deliver pizzas to make money. But with some good old fashioned ass kickin' help from Ricky's long lost father, Reese, played to absolute perfection by the great Gary Cole (you might remember him as the boss from Office Space); he'll be back on the race track in no time to duel with the slimy Jean Girard.
Talladega Nights brings on the laughs and loads of silliness right from the start and never really let's up. And I would go as far as saying that this movie does top Anchorman in not only laughs, but overall entertainment as well, but on the downside, the film does seem to miss a few good opportunities here and there. David Koechner is underused and not really given enough to do, which is a real shame considering how funny he was in Anchorman and Thank You for Smoking, and the story is a bit predictable, but always hilarious. But if you can forgive the thin plot and some of the one-note characters I think you'll have one hell of a fun time. Anchorman director Adam McKay has assembled a great cast with plenty of comedic talent, and as we watch them have fun they don't forget to bring us along for the ride. Talladega Nights is a pure laugh riot of silliness for both racing fans and non-fans alike, and it works so well for the majority of the time it's hard to walk away feeling the slightest bit of disappointment.