Who's in It: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Molly Shannon, Greg Germann
The Basics: Now that Ferrell stars in every movie that comes out, you can pick and choose which ones to go see. That sports thing from last year? The Producers? You can skip them. Bewitched, too. But this one about a dumb, self-absorbed NASCAR driver should be on your Yes list.
What's the Deal? Ferrell does the borderline-moron act really well, and I'm not tired of it yet. If you saw Elf or Anchorman, then you know what I'm talking about. In a way, he's got Jim Carrey's career now. And though Ferrell will get to the tipping point of overexposure soon enough, for now, he can do what he wants — as long as the movies are as start-to-finish-funny as this one.
Who's Great: The whole cast is perfect, especially the kids who play Ricky Bobby's sons, Walker and Texas Ranger. Producer Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Freaks and Geeks) and director and co-writer Adam McKay (Anchorman) make sure that your high expectations are met.
Scene-Stealer: Sacha Baron Cohen (a k a Ali G) could use his own sequel as the crazy-accented, gay French NASCAR archnemesis. I think he just made American comedy safe for the male-male make-out scene.
The People You Can't Quite Place: Gary Cole, who played Mike Brady in both Brady Bunch movies, is Ferrell's father here (even though they're probably about 10 years apart in real life). Jane Lynch was Steve Carell's horny boss in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Meanwhile, that's Oscar nominee Amy Adams as Ferrell's female pit crew member.