Semi-Pro - Review

Director: Kent Alterman
Starring: Will Ferrell/Woody Harrelson
Writer: Scot Armstrong
Runtime: 90 minutes

Will Ferrell returns as another goofy sports guy in Semi-Pro and the results are disappointing.

There was a lot of hype leading up to Semi-Pro, all of it funny. Will Ferrell appeared in numerous commercial spots, the highpoint coming during the Super Bowl. There was Will, tight shorts and all, being what he always is: hilarious.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't live up to the hype and you'll find yourself wishing they had just run a bunch of the commercials back-to-back on the big screen. The Bud Light ads had a higher budget than this film, and they were funnier, too.

What struck me most about the film was its sheer lack of production value. Comedies aren't known for having great lighting and camera work, but that's okay because we don't expect it. In Semi-Pro, however, it looks like the budget went entirely to renting the high school gym where the basketball games are played, and the locker room, where most of the one-liners get zinged.

The film is basic in the extreme. Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, the player/coach of the ABA's Flint Tropics. Word comes down that the ABA is going to be disbanded, but that the top four teams in the league will make it into the NBA. And so the montage marathon begins, as the Tropics try to make it into the top 4, all the while being hamstrung by Jackie Moon's antics.

There's nothing new to the plot, which would be easy to overlook if the movie was funny. Funny movies don't need much in the way of plot to succeed, because if the audience laughs, case closed. Yet Semi-Pro isn't that funny. It's not terribly bad, just not laugh-out-loud good, which is what you want from a Will Ferrell vehicle. When you stick a cliche story line on top of unfunny comedy, you get what you pay for: nothing much.

Woody Harrelson is in the movie as a washed up player looking for a second chance. He does a pretty good job, but the love interest subplot involving him and Maura Tierney is a total waste. She has a grand total of ten minutes screentime in the picture, and we couldn't care less who she is, what she does, and whether or not she'll get back together with Woody. Their scenes together aren't funny, and they don't add anything to the movie. Why was she there to begin with? Search me.

Scot Armstrong wrote this piece, as he did Elf and Old School, two other pictures starring Will Ferrell. He definately has comedy chops. Perhaps first-time director Kent Alterman let this movie get away from him.

If I had to sum up Semi-Pro in one sentence, I'd say it like this: "They phoned it in." It is a very, very poor re-telling of Slap Shot.

Which is too bad, because all the hype leading up to it made me think I might be in for another Ferrell giggle-fest.

Disappointing. Save yourself the money and just look up Will Ferrell on You Tube and watch a bunch of his old stuff. You'll have a much better time.