In "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," Will Ferrell plays the title character, who has a jones for things that go vrrrrrooooom , having been spawned in the back seat of a speeding car. His first words: "I wanna go fast." His daddy (Gary Cole) has a thing for speed, too, hightailing it out of Ricky Bobby's life when he was just a tyke. After a lucky break, Ricky Bobby and his best buddy, Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly), are basking in the klieg light heat of NASCAR stardom. Soon Ricky Bobby has a beautiful wife (Leslie Bibb) who's all about the photo op, two potty-mouthed boys and multiple endorsement deals, including the official sanitary pad of NASCAR. As a race car driver, he's a bit of a lug, a spotlight hogger who elbows his buddy out of the way, even though they're part of the same team.

And crash Ricky Bobby does, right on cue, his car turning flip-flops into the air in "the worst crash in NASCAR history." He survives the accident, body, but not mind, intact. Physically, he's fine, but he's convinced that he's paralyzed, so much so, that he actually can't move. Soon, he's spiraling down, a narrative arc of despair and redemption that's fodder for so many biopics.

Problem is, "Talladega Nights" doesn't do much more than go for the quick guffaw, and frequently the guffaw comes from stereotypical slights along the redneck vein. Comedy, of course, is a complicated dance between rhythm and timing, but "Talladega Nights" drags where it should be crackling and popping. Ferrell's a talented actor, but he's an actor who doesn't seem to trust himself enough to push past his comedic comfy zone. That's a good thing, perhaps, if you're a die-hard Ferrell fan. Not so good if you thought "Anchorman" was a one-note snooze.

-- Teresa Wiltz (Aug. 4, 2006)

Contains crude and sexual humor, profanity, drug references and brief comic violence.