Not as funny as Days of Thunder, but a hell of a lot more realistic...

We've just seen the new Will Ferrell movie, Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. And Ferrell's midas touch continues.

It's the hilarious story of racing driver Ricky Bobby, who hits the NASCAR circuit with one simple philosophy. If you're not first, you're last.

Success follows success, until his racing team hires homosexual formula one driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen, TV's Ali G) as his teammate.

Talledega Nights take a swipe at middle America (Will Ferrell's characterisation of Ricky Bobby is eerily close to his impressions of George Dubya Bush) and the sponsor-driven world of professional American sports racing (in one scene, Rick Bobby's family sit down to say a version of Grace sponsored by Powerade.)

What's more, the film is hilarious throughout. I was gripping the sides of my seat as one joke followed another, each hitting the funny bone with dangerous accuracy.