Talladega Nights

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is as funny as you were hoping it would be. Fear not, Will Ferrell does not disappoint in this, the funniest movie of the summer.

Ferrell stars as Ricky Bobby, the best driver in NASCAR. With his mantra of "If you're not first, you're last," Ricky only wants to go faster. He only knows how to be number one. In fact, that's about all he knows as Ricky Bobby is not the brightest bulb. Helping him win races is his teammate, and best friend, Cal Naughton Jr. Cal longs to win a race, but he knows his role is to help Ricky win. Ricky's other motivation is his family, including his hot wife Carley (Leslie Bibb) and two sons, Walker and Texas Ranger (Houston Tumlin and Grayson Russell).

All is going well for Ricky until a traumatic crash that leaves him believing that he is paralyzed. While he eventually accepts the fact that he can walk, he still fears going fast. Not only does he lose his urge to race, he also loses his wife to best friend Cal. Ricky's once-glamorous life has turned into a pizza delivery job on a bicycle. Fortunately for Ricky, this is also the point where his life-long absent father Reese (Gary Cole) returns to help Ricky learn to tame his fear. By doing so, Ricky will also be able to compete against the newest NASCAR entrant, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), a French racer secretly longing to be beaten by the best.

"Nights" is laugh-out-loud funny before the opening scene with a "quote" from Eleanor Roosevelt. The middle does drag slightly, but the movie is otherwise solid. While Will Ferrell is always at his best as a well-meaning dimwit, it is the supporting cast that truly shines. Gary Cole turns in a great performance as the greasy, beer-guzzling Reese, and the two boys are simply hilarious, nearly stealing every scene. All in all, "Talladega Nights" is one of the first movies of the summer that I would easily go see again. I give it an A.

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is rated PG-13 with a running time of 105 minutes.