The Fast and the Funny

I don’t know if there’s any point of me reviewing Talladega Nights.  You almost certainly know already if you’re going to see this movie.  If you think Will Farrell is a moron you won’t see the movie, regardless of what I say.  If you think he’s moronically hilarious than you’ll see it.  I think Farrell is hilarious, especially when he’s in control of the film.  When you let him write the movie and go crazy for two hours you get some good belly laughs.

The infinite comparisons to Anchorman are well-founded.  It’s a nearly identical story, just replacing a 70s news personality with a new century racecar driver.  He starts out on the top of his game, he gets humbled and rises back to the top.  The same actors, director et al.  But it was hilarious the first time and it was perhaps better the second.  And when they do it a third time (Stepbrothers has already been announced, again with Farrell, Reilly and McKay) I’ll see it again.

With the frequency of the jokes you do have to sit through some poor ones.  The Tom Cruise bit was funny the first time, but not really thereafter.  Other jokes are just wrong, but still funny.  So you get to feel guilty about Farrell’s swearing children and blasphemous prayers, but the blasphemous prayers are HILARIOUS.  If you haven’t seen the previews of the scene, Farrell insists on praying to baby Jesus, not adult Jesus or teenage Jesus.  But he confirms everyone’s right to pray to whatever age deity they wish.  His descriptions of the Savior steal heavily from Monty Python synonym humor, but they still made me laugh.  

If you associate with any males from the age of 13 to 33 (perhaps ranging from 3 to 53,) you’ll be hearing lines from this movie.  I don’t know if that motivates you more or less to see it, but it’s just a fact.  

If you want to see a funny movie, you’re not likely to find any better this season.  It may be too offensive for some, but its cleaner than Farrell’s previous efforts (excluding Elf and Kicking and Screaming) and cleaner than most comedies aimed at adults.  Molly Shannon made me uncomfortable, but otherwise I was fine.  Turn off your higher brain function and stay a while.

Song of the moment: “Space Game” MC Lars