What exactly constitutes a foreign film?

I'm not going to lie: I, along with 99.95% of the state of Alabama, went to see Talladega Nights on opening day. It was fabulous - my parents and I sat in the theater for two hours and died laughing, mostly because it's so amazingly true. I recognize those people. That Applebee's commercial in the middle of the wreck is spot-on. And that final scene, when the family is driving toward I-20 down the ridiculously long road out of the Superspeedway and the camera barely catches the giant American flag overhead...yeah, that's the money shot. I've never actually been to a NASCAR event, but I know that flag - I've certainly been to Atlanta enough times, and actually got caught in race traffic one day. That was fun...

I saw it again last night, this time with a British friend, and while we both laughed through the movie, I definitely got more of the jokes. It's amazing to be the only person in the theater laughing at any given moment - "Diane Sawyer had her Katie Couric. Will you be my Katie Couric?" elicited no response. At least the cougar has universal appeal. I imagine it was like the years at Yale when Margaret and I laughed our butts off at Men in Tights, then laughed all the harder after finally being convinced to sit through Prince of Thieves - the spoof's great on its own, but all the better once you understand the context. The saddest part I only realized after I got home - did anyone besides me actually get "Shake and Bake"? Does Shake and Bake even exist over here? (It's a seasoning mix kit - you add chicken to the baggie, shake it so the chicken gets coated, and bake it. Hence the name.) Not that I have any particularly fond memories of Shake and Bake, but the commercial's a classic.

So yes, I got a little choked up at the end of the movie (the trucks and RVs...Applebee's...that big-ass flag), and it was very strange to find myself again on the streets of Edinburgh in a light rain. Love them or hate them, those are my people, and it was refreshing to hear English spoken properly once again (although I think my friend may have been confused when I said that really was the local accent - I somehow managed to not pick it up as a kid, and Connecticut has messed me up further).

Adding to my generalized homesickness was the cute piece my mom added to the care package, a Southern Living essay entitled "Yes, Amanda, There Is a Piggly Wiggly" (the author tried to explain The Pig in Wales - the piece is now tacked to my wall), and my first semi-successful batch of muffins. I've never seen people so pleased with food I've produced, even if all I did was add milk, figure out the Fahrenheit-Celsius conversion for the oven, and watch as the damned thing overcooked half the pan.

So yes, Talladega Nights was great, even as a foreign film, and I came home, talked with the girls, had myself a muffin, and felt better. Now to procure a pitcher and introduce proper tea to this godforsaken island...we're here to help, y'all.