Hilarious movie that transcends flaws (Minor spoilers)

Rating: 7/10 (14 August 2006)

Criticizing Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby for its pretty, red-headed deus ex machina, plot holes, and the crimes of putting the best gags in the out-rake reel at the end is like beating a puppy.
No other comedy this year works harder (and stupider) to make you laugh. Will Ferrel is his clueless, awkward-honky best as Ricky Bobby, a race car driver who's lived his life by the adage "If you aren't first, you're last." His birth and early life are hilariously recounted in the beginning and segueway into a very funny scene of grace at Ricky's table.
Adding to the mayhem, is the cast of caricatures that surround Ricky. Gary Cole as his degenerate father is a boozy hoot, as are John Reilly as his dimwit teammate. Ferrel's wise-ass kids deliver their foulmouthed dialogue in the cutest Southern accents.
The movie cruises through its predictable riches to rags and back plot, but you don't notice because you're laughing too hard.
The dialogue was mostly improvised, and in every scene it's clear that they're about to burst with laughter. Will Ferrel and Sascha Baron Cohen had to work especially hard to avoid laughing. Look closely during their exchange at Cohen's character's house and you'll Cohen lose it just before the scene-shift.
None of the Frat-Pack (Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Jason Bateman, etc.) make an appearance--to the movie's benefit. The movie stays above the lameness of recent Frat Pack efforts (Envy, Starsky & Hutch, DodgeBall), and maintains an energy these movies don't come close to.
Now the nitpicking: Amy Adams' character appears out of nowhere to help Ricky Bobby at the end. Look closely for the pretty red-head in the beginning, so when she shows up at the end you won't be scratching your head.
Adams' absence highlights another weakness in the film: a lack of groundedness. OK, this movie isn't meant to be realistic and it isn't, but having a character or two that isn't a complete nut, if only for the need for a straightman, would have highlighted the jokes. Adams character, fleshed out, could have been this, but given little to do and missing for two-thirds of the movie, she isn't.
Also, some of the funniest parts appear in the outtakes. Some of them, clearly, couldn't be in the film, but others are funnier than what made the final cut.
If you like Will Ferrel's brand of comedy, you'll like this movie. If you don't, but suspect you might be able to converted, this will be the movie to do it.