Review of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) by Amoviecritic — 17 Aug 2006

It was alright. The first half was fairly funny, but there just weren't enough jokes in the 2nd half, and the last half hour of the movie just seemed unbearable to sit through. I don't know..

.just got old. I also think Will Ferrell's trying too hard. He just seems a bit desperate for laughs, and it's not as funny as Anchorman. The sentimental scenes were also really, REALLY boring.

I also thought the movie was really too tame...I think if they went for an R-rating instead, it could have been a lot funnier. Plenty of jokes in the movie relied on the old "kids swearing" type of humor and just like last years remake of The Bad News Bears, it would have been funnier if what the kids said was actually shocking.

...but in a PG-13 movie, I guess they weren't able to have it. Even as PG-13, though, I thought Anchorman pushed the envelope a lot more than Talladega Nights does. This movie just seems way too tame, as if Ferrel is targeting a younger audience.

Those issues aside, though, it was funny enough in the first half to keep the movie a C+. Not quite worth recommending but it was funny enough.