There are many sides of America that the rest of us are hesitant to accept, and they always seem to make for good stories (remember "Brokeback Mountain?"). Though there is a gay character in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," this latest satire about contemporary Americanism starring Will Ferrell is actually a slightly different film than that one. Its premise indicates a can't-miss laffer: Ferrell's considerable comedic charm inhabiting a satire on the world of NASCAR. But like many films that disappoint, this one does so out of the sheer heights of what it could have been, not of the sophomoric, sporadically funny set of loosely related sequences that it is.

Ferrell plays Ricky Bobby, a man who, since birth, has had but one desire: He wants to go fast. It's a good thing, then, that while working as a jackman for an abysmal NASCAR team, he gets called on to replace a driver who has left his car in mid-race, preferring to eat cheeseburgers on the infield instead. From the moment he gets behind that wheel, Ricky Bobby goes fast and, with the help of his teammate Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly, "The Aviator"), he comes to dominate the circuit immediately.

But then arrives Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen, TV's "Da Ali G show"), a French Formula 1 driver who travels to America to defeat Ricky. Will the Frenchman sponsored by Perrier unseat the Ricky Bobby as NASCAR's next great driver? More importantly, will Ricky's self-absorbed pride step aside long enough to let him see what a sham his wife, his friends and his whole life are? Or will a hysterical bout with fake paralysis be the end of this ballad?

Given its premise and star, "Talladega Nights" could have easily been the funniest movie of the year, but thanks to shoddy writing and jokes that depend too often on delivery and too infrequently substance, it's a mediocre comedy at best. But it's depiction of NASCAR nation, far realer than its depiction of the racing itself, is a pleasantly introspective surprise. NASCAR is the fastest-growing sport in America, but outside of its backyard in the Southeast, it's regarded with contempt, both for the inanity of the sport and the perceived gruff, crude nature of its fans.

But NASCAR remains one of the few activities in America that filters through real Americana in its every turn. While other sports are busy banning substances, arresting fans and suspending players, NASCAR makes no effort to disguise what it is. Ads are a fact of American life, and NASCAR is the only sport in America that embraces them and builds its image off of sponsors. It makes sense then that the movie does the same. Product placements are many, but in a film about NASCAR, seeing Ricky Bobby drive in Puma shoes and mention Powerade every time he says grace because it's in his endorsement contract should bring smiles rather than groans.

Still, "The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is really the ballad of the ill-directed and under-utilized stars. Let's begin with Ali G's Girard, who is supposed to be funny simply because he is gay, insists on smooching Ricky and has a ridiculous, apparently French accent. But Ali G is far bigger than ridiculous accents; he's an accomplished comedian with an eccentric mantra that, if unleashed, has enough energy to carry a film (see "Madagascar"). But here he has only a terrible accent that is trumpeted around shamelessly by the merest skeleton of dialogue.

And then there's Amy Adams (Academy Award nominee for "Junebug") who plays Ricky's assistant and subsequent love interest Susan. Adams, who had an excellent recurring role on the American version of "The Office" is egregiously stifled in this film; though she has a significant role in Ricky's life, she's in only a handful of scenes. Even when she is there, she has only a couple of winding anti-climatic lines, and then disappears completely in Ricky's final big race against Girard.

Adams deserves better than his half-baked comedy and of course, so does Ferrell. One of the finest alums of "Saturday Night Live," Ferrell has shown great versatility as an actor and comedian. He's had better comedic efforts in the past and he'll have more in the future. If he hadn't co-written the screenplay for this hollow film, we could at least have felt sorry for him.

Rating: Two out of five stars

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
At the Showcase and Quality 16
Columbia