Semi-Pro is what you get when you cross Anchorman, a sports movie and a plethora of jokes about balls. The new Will Ferrell comedy tries to slam dunk with laughs, but most of the jokes miss the net.
Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, the head coach, owner and forward for the Flint, Michigan Tropics, an ABA basketball team in 1976. The league is about merge with the NBA, and Jackie is promised that if his struggling team gets into the top four, it will move to the new league. Moon's secret weapon is Monix (Woody Harrelson), a washed-up, former Celtics player.
If you cannot tell by now, this is the same plot as every other sports movie. The team has to come together to win and so on and so forth, so just forget the plot. The jokes are the reason people will be crowding the theaters to see this sports spoof. Many of them will be disappointed.
In its favor, Semi-Pro is a thousand times better than The Comebacks, the sports comedy released earlier this year. Ironically, David Koechner, the star of The Comebacks, plays the villain in Semi-Pro like he is trying to redeem himself for past sins.
There is one laugh-out-loud, hilarious scene in the movie, though. Ferrell, Tim Meadows, Will Arnett and Andy Richter are sitting around a table playing poker. Arnett pulls out a pistol and an impromptu game of Russian roulette begins. It is obviously hard to imagine a suicidal game of chance being comedy gold, but it is the movie's pinnacle.
For some reason the movie is incredibly schizophrenic. It can't decide if it wants to be funny or serious. There are several dramatic scenes with Monix trying to get back together with an old flame and motivating the team. This is supposed to be a comedy. Watching Harrelson act is like finding a musical number during the middle of No Country for Old Men. It does not fit at all.
The rest of the movie is not much more than a slightly warmed rehash of Anchorman. There is a bear fight, lots of absurd exclamations and Ferrell singing.
Ferrell is starting to make a career out of bad sports movies. First there was Talladega Nights, then Blades of Glory and now this. If he tries long enough, he will have to get things right eventually. Honestly, it is not surprising that this movie is not funny. Movies that are as over-advertised as Semi-Pro are usually proportionately bad.
The Landlord proves that Ferrell can still be funny, but Semi-Pro is a complete air ball. Ferrell is trying too hard to regain past glory. There is no doubt that he is still talented, but Semi-Pro is a foul.
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Chris Bruce
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