Is this a movie about racing?
What happened to racing films? Where did we lose our way? How did we go from "Days of Thunder" to things like "Fast and the Furious"(which calling it a racing film is a big stretch and giving it too much credit) and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby"?
So let's talk about the latter, shall we? According to "Talladega Nights" all NASCAR drivers and fans are nothing but moronic rednecks from the deep south, giving the film a very one demensional feel with a "HURR HURR, REDNECKS ARE STUPID!" vibe. Will Ferrell's character(Ricky Bobby) has no depth and comes across as just a stupid southern boy(he names his kids "Walker" and "Texas ranger" for god's sake!). Even the other characters just come off as nothing more than yamering white trash drunks(with the exception of Ricky's pit cheif and Sacha Baron Cohen's French import driver).
Speaking of Sacha Baron Cohen, this guy just ain't that funny. He does a somewhat decent job here as the French driver Jean Girard. The only problem is the film relies on such low-brow humor that they made his accent so thick that everything sounds like he's talking into a pillow(I won't use the line from the film because it's just stupid sounding). This ruined what could have been a good character in this film.
So are there any good characters? Yes, Michael Clarke Duncan gives a good role as the sort of voice of reason and Ricky's pit cheif. Another mention goes to Amy Adams, even if she does have a small part she is a wonderfully talented actress, and damn good looking to boot.
So how do I, as a NASCAR fan, stand on this film? While the racing scenes are fairly accurate to the real thing(with drafting and what not), the whole "NASCAR is for rednecks, HURR HURR" thing will forever bring this movie down. Don't bother with this, unless you're a closed minded moron.