Semi Pro Review
Thanks for checking out our Semi Pro Review!
The General Idea
Plot synopsis from IMDB: Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the American Basketball Association’s Flint Michigan Tropics, rallies his teammates to make their NBA dreams come true
The Good
Tim Meadows isn’t in Semi Pro much, but the strongest scene in the film features him and this is no accident. He is an outstanding comedic performer with amazing timing and when he is on the screen - laughter happens. It was great to see him and Will working together again and I certainly hope for more team ups in the future.
The sports commentators in this film Dick Pepperfield (Andrew Daly) and Lou Redwood (Will Arnett) have quite a bit of dialogue both on and off the court. You would think that the movie would have suffered for it, but the opposite was true. When either of these characters are on the screen, the film is funny and enjoyable. Arnett and Daly had fantastic chemistry and they both fit their characters like a glove. To be honest, if Semi Pro was a film about sports commentators and focused on these two; the movie would have been much, much better. These characters were the pillars holding the film together and without them it would have been a total write off.
Jackie Moon surprisingly does not have a lot of stand alone screen time. We do not get many solo moments with Jackie so we don’t learn much about him, and it’s just as well; the character is forgettable and I would argue the worst Will Ferrell incarnation to date. He was a profane man however and it made for some hilarious moments. Will usually keeps the language fairly clean so it was a bit shocking to see him slinging f-bombs in peoples’ faces. The audience always laughed when he got crass and it was a nice surprise. I just wish this card would have been used with a better character, in a better film
The Bad
Monix (Woody Harrelson) plays the hero of this film and is also the love interest in a bullshit romantic sub-plot. The film is more about Monix than Jakie Moon, which could have been fine - if Monix was humorous. When a focus character isn’t funny in a comedy; something has gone horribly wrong. Woody was great in Kingpin and it’s a shame that Semi Pro ignored and his comedic ability. Monixr was a flat out buzzkill and every time he is on the screen - the film becomes lameland.
The story for this film sucked, It was formulaic, unfunny and spent time trying to provide life lessons in a glossed over, piss-poor manner. Some scenes were quite funny and that will happen when you have a cast like this; but the overall story still needs to be humorous - this was not the case with Semi Pro. This film was the bastard son of a shitty sports film and a mediocre comedy. With the talent they had on board, it’s a god damn shame this film was anything less than outstanding.
Overall
With the little that these actors had to work with, they still managed to get some pretty decent laughs, and some scenes were great. It is for a handful of scenes that I will recommend this film. Andrew Daly And Will Arnett are largely responsible for tipping the scale and they should be proud of what they accomplished. This is my least favorite Wil Ferrell comedy to date, so it has the distinction of being #1 on that list. Out of 10 I will give Semi Pro a 5 and if you are not chopping at the bit to see it; wait for the rental.
1. Orren Jensen replies at 1st March 2008, 2:11 am :
Have no desire to see this film. I had my fix of Will Ferrell two Will Ferrell movies ago. It is the same old boring stuff. His next film will most likely be a parody of a sport s movie were he plays “himself” as an old SNL character. Movies I liked with him in are as followed: A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Elf (2003), Stranger Than Fiction (2006). That’s about it, everything else is just him playing one of his SNL characters. It could be argued that the only SNL characters that worked out in a movie were Wayne’s World. If you like Will Ferrell go ahead and watch it but I am saying not watch it.
2. Jeff H replies at 1st March 2008, 7:58 am :
Well, i would like to put a poll out there to see if there are any other sports characters will hasnt played? i suppose he could try baseball and football. just rewrite some lines and there you have it, a new will ferrell movie! make him a drunk minor league manager or something. or maybe a highschool wrestling coach? i guess thats my point. he is going to keep making these as long as we keep going to the theatre! so….if you want to see him do something different, stop watching him in these movies. I think they are funny, so i go, i am also not bitching about him doing the same thing over and over again. We know what to expect and we like it. hence the reason we are going to watch. i dont think anyone is going to this movie hoping that its going to be the next hoosiers.
its funny that people are “tired” of the same old schtick, but the same people will rip into an actor who takes a risky role and it doesnt go well. then its, stick to what you know. Well, Will Ferrell is doing that and guess what? He is a very rich man in hollywood who isnt searching for his next role, they are all looking for him. So pick your poison people, do you want him to do what he knows best or take a risk and mess up his career?
Let the hating commence.
3. Kristina replies at 1st March 2008, 3:26 pm :
Hate to say I told you so.
4. nbakid2000 replies at 1st March 2008, 8:28 pm :
This was the only Ferrell movie that looked good to me since Roxbury. I will hold off judgment until I see it.
5. chris (the real one) replies at 1st March 2008, 10:28 pm :
just saw it…huge farrell fan, i loved anchorman, comedy classic…but this was pretty disappointing…dougs review was spot on, it had laughs but not that many and some jokes fell flat….solid 5 out of 10…come on will u can do better
6. Roland replies at 2nd March 2008, 4:09 pm :
Well honestly, Ferrell’s got a bit of the Bill Murray/Dan Aykroyd *past one’s funny era* type of problem. Really, since ‘Groundhog Day’, Bill Murray hasn’t been making funny films.
This movie was a bit like that and for one, I didn’t find the post traumatic Vietnam vet with the whole gun (Deer Hunter/Russian Roulette) slapstick to be funny at all. It was actually disturbing considering that we’re in a current day guerrilla war situation with a lot of vets feeling exactly the same way.
7. DnT replies at 2nd March 2008, 4:25 pm :
It was better than I thought it would be, but maybe I’m just easily entertained. :(
8. isuflank replies at 2nd March 2008, 6:52 pm :
This movie was a waste of my time and money. Not so much funny, the plot was dumb and the actors must have been desperate for a role. We walked out before it was over, along with about 5 other people.
9. isuflank replies at 2nd March 2008, 6:52 pm :
This movie was a waste of my time and money. Not so much funny, the plot was dumb and the actors must have been desperate for a role. We walked out before it was over, along with about 5 other people.
10. flommer replies at 2nd March 2008, 7:31 pm :
This movie was very funny, and if you don’t like it you can s my c.
11. McCoy replies at 2nd March 2008, 8:32 pm :
Hey Jensen, Night at the Roxbury is based on an SNL skit. Do you have all three types of retardation or something?
12. JMOvechkin replies at 3rd March 2008, 10:56 am :
Jensen, you are a class five super tool. You obviously have no base for your argument so thanks for wasting space atop the comments. You just as well could have said, I hate movies based on comic books, the only movies I like are Batman and The Flash. We are all dumber now that you have posted, I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul.
13. Dog Mouth replies at 3rd March 2008, 12:27 pm :
I just saw this movie on Saturday. It’s Will Ferrell’s best film since Anchorman (with the possible exception of Kicking and Screaming, if you enjoy a more realistic plot). The movie is a weird combination of Kingpin, Anchorman, and Slapshot (old Paul Newman film) for obvious reasons (that I shouldn’t have to go into here). All in all, if you enjoyed Anchorman, but thought Blades of Glory and Talladega Nights were only so-so, I’d consider giving Semi-Pro a shot. For me, Will Ferrell got it right once again.
14. Fred replies at 3rd March 2008, 6:25 pm :
A Night at the Roxbury was from SNL Oren.
15. Tom replies at 4th March 2008, 11:08 am :
You can already watch it online here:
http://mediateevee.com/showCat2.php?vid=8655&cid=1
16. David replies at 6th March 2008, 8:48 pm :
Well I really enjoy watching Will in all of his movies. I really thought Blades of Glory was brilliant. That was a great story so it was packed full of laughs. This on the other hand I thought was terrible it was weak and there were few laughs. I am really surprised that this made it to the big screen. Very dissapointed.
17. affy replies at 6th March 2008, 9:16 pm :
That movie was funny! No, it wasn’t the most creative plot or sub-plot. But I laughed so hard and frequently. It was good to see the Ferrell movie “regulars” as well as some unexpected cast members. I thought his Jackie Moon character was just built for laughs, and much more humorous than, let’s say the Anchorman character. This was my favorite Will Ferrell movie! I cried laughing, several times. I would actually see it again, with some goofy siblings just to maximize the fun. It’s not a must see, but you’ll walk out of the theater smiling.