200-MPH REDNECK HUMOR DRIVES `TALLADEGA'.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

First ``My Name Is Earl,'' now ``Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.'' It's only taken about 30 years, but redneck comedy has finally smartened up.

Will Ferrell's NASCAR spoof ain't aerodynamic engineering by a long shot, but it is shrewdly uproarious at a mentally engaged speed that ``Smokey and the Bandit'' movies never clocked. Ferrell's second outing with co-writer/director Adam McKay also beats their previous ``Anchorman'' in its generally bright take on dumb behavior.

Mainly, though, the jokes are just plain funnier than they usually are in these things. And there's a consistent satirical edge that's pretty wicked; God, family, runaway commercialization and other values red-state Americans supposedly hold sacred are mercilessly skewered. Yet there's a good-natured vibe to it all and, in a weird way, the movie's as inclusive as the day is long. No wonder NASCAR cooperated with this production that makes fun of the organization's many absurdities; it might just attract whole new demographic groups to the ravenous sports-entertainment empire.

As for the core stock-car audience, only a really bad good ol' boy could fail to chuckle at ``Talladega's'' dang-near brilliant caricatures. Pacing this pack is Ferrell's title driver, a born-to-rev type whose success on the track has led to an ego as massive as it is down-home natural. With just enough of a Southern drawl and rich emotional impulsiveness, Ferrell doesn't exactly create a believable human being, but this is definitely his most faceted and challenging big-screen comic creation to date.

Ricky's childhood friend and team partner Cal's (John C. Reilly, impeccably dim-bulbing it) pleas to actually be allowed to win a race for a change fall on his buddy's ever-loyal but deaf ears. The champ's Dixie peacock wife, Carley (``Crossing Jordan's'' Leslie Bibb), is his biggest, most supportive fan -- as long as he comes in first.

Their two foul-mouthed boys, Walker and Texas Ranger Bobby (Houston Tumlin and Grayson Russell), are hilarious examples of country brat entitlement. And Ricky's dissolute dad, Reese Bobby (Gary Cole), is a shining beacon of bad, hot-rod hillbilly role modeling.

Yup, Ricky's living the Middle American dream, all right. But it all crashes around him when a gay French Formula One (or, as he says it, ``Une'') interloper, Jean Girard, blows Ricky off the track.

Played in what is, surprisingly, one of the film's least-funny performances by ``Ali G'' alter ego Sacha Baron Cohen, Jean represents everything red-blooded Yanks -- and Rebs -- should fear and hate.

Cohen's shtick, however, just isn't as cleverly worked out as Ricky's. The former reads Camus while driving at 200 miles per hour, while our man can riff for five minutes saying the most bizarrely argumentative grace that's ever preceded a fast-food feast.

Anyway, Ricky hits rock bottom, and the part of the film that charts his road to recovery runs into a few slow patches. But this isn't too bothersome, as it's also where the movie's surprisingly thoughtful theme -- that the drive to win can be just as destructive as it is rewarding -- gains traction. And besides, any lost momentum is recovered at the climactic, ridiculous and yet inspired Talladega race.

By the way, a lot of the racing footage was shot at actual speedway events. I don't know if a movie like this needs that kind of realism, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com

TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY - Three stars

(PG-13: sex, language, drug use, violence)

Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Leslie Bibb.

Director: Adam McKay.

Running time: 1 hr. 48 min.

Playing: In wide release.

In a nutshell: NASCAR comedy finds the sweet spot between cartoonish silliness and racing culture send-up. Some good crashes, too.

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Will Ferrell is the intrepid NASCAR driver title character in ``Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.''