Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby review

So this weekend I saw Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and I'll start by saying that the title is probably the weakest aspect of the film.

First off, when I heard they were making this movie I kind of groaned. I was afraid that it just wouldn’t be any good and Will Ferrell’s film comedy career would be over. Talladega Nights is written by Ferrell and director Adam McKay, the same team behind Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. I thought ‘How can it go wrong? I liked Anchorman’, but there was this voice in my head saying that I shouldn’t waste my time with it. Well the voice was wrong, but I think I know what it was trying to tell me: This movie is simply Anchorman on wheels.

In the film we have an arrogant, ignorant, close-minded goof who’s at the top of his game before it all comes crashing down due to a ground-breaking change that conflicts with his narrow view of reality (sound familiar?). In Anchorman it was the addition of a female to a 1970s high profile news crew, who’s an equal if not better reporter than the hero. This time it’s the appearance of a homosexual Frenchman trying to conquer NASCAR, who again appears to easily upstage our hero Ricky Bobby; semi-offensive confrontations ensue. Here’s a tip, if you like Ferrell doing his impression of the president AND you find the French accent even a little bit comical: go see this movie. The French driver in question is played by Sacha Baron Cohen, and he is hysterical.

The movie runs a little long but has a great supporting cast, many of whom get underused, too bad for them. Although Talladega Nights is not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as Anchorman, it’s a little bit smarter.