(U-WIRE) CORVALLIS, Ore. — I knew, walking into “Talladega Nights” that I was going to laugh quite a bit.
I was not disappointed.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly impressed by anything either.
The movie centers around a man who isn’t necessarily firing on all cylinders and how there are three important things in his life: Going fast, shake and bake, and Baby Jesus.

We see as our hero-apparent goes from the top of his game into a spiraling pit of despair and how he ultimately brings himself out of his funk … mostly because he’s too stupid to realize that everything everyone else is saying to him is either sarcastic or meant as an insult.

Overall, the film is a satisfying way to waste about 90 minutes of your life, but it doesn’t ever become much more than that.
Sure, it’s the second-largest opening for a comedy ever, but I hardly think that grossing huge quantities of money is the sign of a good film.

And that is why I will never work in Hollywood. Not because I don’t want to, but because they’ll never let me.

Most moviegoers have come to expect a 90-minute laugh fest when they buy tickets to a Will Ferrell movie, and we are seldom let down. It’s too bad, though, that we can’t seem to expect any more from him.

I was pleasantly surprised, however, from the performance of John C. Reilly (“Chicago”).

When I first saw the previews for the movie way back in who-knows-when, I was disappointed that an actor of his caliber would lower himself to a slapstick, fart-joke movie.

Even though the film is entertaining, and at times, very good, I believe there is one major flaw with it: casting terrific actors in under-used roles.

Namely, Molly Shannon and Andy Richter. These are quite possibly two of the funniest people I have ever watched, and yet their screen time in this movie maybe comes to five minutes … combined.
So, while the Ferrell formula seems to be working well at the box office, it’s leaving a bad taste in my mouth creatively.

I would rather see Ferrell try something new, then pay $6 to see something I saw last year with updated costumes and different names.