‘Talladega Nights’ a winning comedy

In theaters

TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY. Directed by Adam McKay, written by Will Ferrell and McKay, 105 minutes, rated PG-13.

NASCAR fans should be pleased with “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” a comedy that affectionately sends up the sport.

At a recent, packed screening of the movie, a look around the theater confirmed that those talking back at the screen and laughing the hardest tended to be wearing a blaze of color with their NASCAR caps, NASCAR jackets and NASCAR T-shirts.

One middle-aged woman with the number “8” tattooed on her left shoulder – likely in memory of the late Dale Earnhardt, with whom so many have bonded on so many levels since his death – was perhaps the sport’s greatest devotee in attendance.

When her cell phone rang in the middle of the movie, it wasn’t the sound of bells or even a musical ring tone that interrupted the show. Instead, it sounded as if somebody was gunning an engine in her handbag.

For them – and for anybody else seeking a fun comedy – the news mostly is good for “Ricky Bobby.” As directed by Adam McKay from a script he co-wrote with Will Ferrell, the movie is reminiscent of Ferrell’s “Anchor Man: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” in that it’s at its best when it just cuts loose and riffs on all that it’s skewering.

That turns out to be often. The movie stars Ferrell as Ricky Bobby, whose wayward childhood begins the film on a high note when he is born in the back seat of a race car going 125 mph. Fast forward several years and Ricky’s first words aren’t the usual “Mama” or “Uncle,” but the somewhat unconventional, “I wanna go fast!”

Later, still a child, he steals his mother’s car and indeed does go fast, wreaking havoc along the way, and later still we meet his deadbeat dad, the amateur tattoo artist and car racer Reese (Gary Cole), who instills in Bobby one key phrase before disappearing from his life for years: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

Taking that to heart, Ricky and his best friend, Cal (John C. Reilly), grow up to find work in a NASCAR pit crew, where Ricky gets an opportunity from his pit-crew chief, Lucius (Michael Clarke Duncan), to drive for the team when the lead driver bails. In no time, Ricky becomes NASCAR’s top driver.

He’s a sensation – unstoppable, unbeatable – winning race after race, marrying the first hot blonde to flash him in the stands (Leslie Bibb), and having two sons, Walker and Texas Ranger, who are all about Daddy’s fame and Daddy’s millions. As Ricky himself says, he’s living the American dream.

Trouble is, dreams sometimes become nightmares, which is the case when Ricky is pitted against the gifted gay French driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), who causes Ricky such a fall from grace, there is only one direction the movie can take – a predictable showdown between the two men at the end.

The first third is the movie at its best – it has the looseness of improvisation, the electricity of being conceived on the fly. The second half is a struggle, but McKay recovers nicely toward the end, where he and Ferrell find that their inspiration isn’t at a bar or at Applebee’s, but on the track, where so many stereotypes have come to gather – and where so many stereotypes are eventually run down by the script.

Grade: B

On Blu-ray

Just out on Sony’s high definition Blu-ray disc are two films new to the format (each also is available on HD DVD), with the images and sound just as stellar as you expect. The best of the lot is “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang,” which underscores the idea that anyone can make it in Hollywood, particularly if one happens to be a crook.

For instance, take New York thug Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.), who might just become the next big thing after he robs a toy store, then is mistaken for an actor when he stumbles upon an acting audition. Next step for Harry? Hollywood, where he finds himself going for a screen test, mired in a murder mystery, reconnecting with a former love (Michelle Monaghan), and learning the ropes from a gay detective played by Val Kilmer. This trippy, pop-happy movie tips its hat to noir while eventually pulling the rug out from the audience’s feet. It’s a dizzy blast of a film.

Rob Reiner’s “Rumor Has It …,” on the other hand, doesn’t fare so well. The movie is a stale extension of sorts of Mike Nichols’ 1967 film, “The Graduate.” It finds that Kevin Costner is Dustin Hoffman’s character all grown up, Shirley MacLaine’s character turns out to be the inspiration for Anne Bancroft’s Mrs. Robinson, and Jennifer Aniston is the reporter caught in the middle, with a plot that leads her down a bumpy road filled with the possibility of incest. Sterility also plays a big hand in the story in ways better left for you, but really, when you add it all up, sterility also lays its cold hands all over the production. The film lacks energy, big laughs and insight, and it squanders a promising premise and a talented cast.

“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” Grade: B+

“Rumor Has It …” Grade: C-

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays in Discovering, Fridays in Happening, and Weekends in Television. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.

com.