February 29, 2008 Semi-Pro Rating: R for language and some sexual content.
Will Ferrell has already skewered the worlds of television news, figure skating and NASCAR. Now he sets his sights on professional basketball. He returns to the screen in yet another zany, sports-related comedy. This one is set in the mid 1970's.
Jackie Moon (Ferrell) is a singing one-hit wonder who used the money he made on is number one song "Love Me Sexy" to buy the Flint Tropics of the ABA.
Jackie is also the team's coach, promoter and starting power forward. Unfortunately, the Tropics are the worst team in the league and the ABA is on the verge of collapsing. Jackie pins his hopes on a possible merger with the more established NBA.
But the terms of the deal have the Tropics on the outside looking in. Faced with the prospect of finishing in the top four or losing his team, Jackie rallies the troops. But the league also mandates each team average two thousand fans a game. That gets Jackie the promoter working overtime.
It should be pretty easy to figure out if you want to see this movie. If you're a Will Ferrell fan you'll get exactly what you're expecting and will probably enjoy it.
Ferrell haters should stay away.
The leading man is joined by a familiar cast of buddies including Woody Harrelson as a player looking for one more round of glory, David Koechner as the ABA Commissioner, Andy Richter as Jackie's goofy assistant and even singer Andr» Benjamin, who plays the team's only star.
I do like Ferrell, but "Semi-Pro" doesn't compare to his best work in "Anchorman," "Talladega Nights" or "Elf."
There are laughs sprinkled throughout but the movie wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. And one scene is definitely not for kids. It involves a gun everyone thinks is unloaded, but of course, we know better.
The language is also pretty rough. This is a film that definitely earns its restricted rating.
"Semi-Pro" is full of rowdy, slapstick humor, but the fact that the jokes are starting to feel familiar and don't come as often as they should keeps it from being a great movie.
On my rating scale, "Semi-Pro" earns a Double.
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