LOS ANGELES -- Christian film reviewer Ted Baehr is no fan of this past weekend's top movie at the box office.

• Web Site: See Baehr's Review

The Movieguide.org publisher said Will Ferrell's "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is "a racist, bigoted work that ridicules the Bible Belt, Southern white men, Christianity, Jesus Christ, the family, and American masculinity."

Baehr said the lead character's mocking prayer to baby Jesus shows anti-Christian bigotry and wonders why Hollywood isn't treating Will Ferrell like it's treated Mel Gibson, who has apologized for his anti-Semitic outburst.

"Don't count on Hollywood (or the news media, for that matter) to condemn and denounce Will Ferrell and his partner, writer and director Adam McKay. And, don't expect any self-righteous liberals to get on their soapbox and say that they will never work with Farrell or McKay, or see one of their movies," Baehr said in his review.

He said that "Talladega Nights" is one of the most "blasphemous, politically correct major movies ever released by a major Hollywood studio."

He continued his rant, saying that Hollywood and the mainstream media stood by silently while Dan Brown and Ron Howard mocked Christian beliefs and Roman Catholic leaders in "The Da Vinci Code" and when Martin Scorsese claimed in "The Last Temptation of Christ" that Jesus was a "mixed-up" and "weak-minded" wimp.

On its Web site, Movieguide describes itself as:

..."a ministry dedicated to redeeming the values of the mass media according to biblical principles, by influencing entertainment industry executives and helping families make wise media choices.

"Talladega Nights" tells the tale of Ricky Bobby, a man who was born when his Daddy was racing his Ma to the hospital and got so carried away by speed that a quick slam on the brakes is all it took to pop little Ricky out, according to WISN.com reviewer Deb Scott. His Daddy takes a powder shortly after he is born, and as a result, Ricky grows up with a hero worship complex and the need for speed.

An emergency at a racetrack where he works pushes Ricky behind the wheel of a NASCAR vehicle in the middle of a race and everything just clicks, including a phrase his drunken Daddy once said to him -- "If you ain't first, you're last." So begins the raucous rise and fall of Ricky Bobby.

Meanwhile, actor John C. Reilly said he had no idea NASCAR was so popular until he made "Talladega Nights."

He was surprised to hear that some fans camp out for days before a race and turn it into an event. Reilly used to wonder why anyone would watch cars race in a circle, but now he said he knows "there's so much more going on than that."

"Talladega Nights" Races Into First Place

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" claimed the checkered flag this weekend with a No. 1 finish at the box office.

According to studio estimates, the movie sped away with a cool $47 million.

Rory Bruer, president of distribution for Sony Pictures Entertainment, said the combination of Ferrell and NASCAR was sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Also entering the box office race with a surprising debut was the animated movie, "Barnyard: The Original Party Animals," which came in second.

The NASCAR parody made its big-screen debut in Talladega on Thursday with a free screening a day before it officially opened nationwide.