Will Ferrell sure does love his sports. Not only can you find the former Saturday Night Live star at USC football games, but also in a host of sports comedies. He has starred in movies about NASCAR, figuring skating, soccer and now basketball. Semi-Pro may look like a rehash of things we’ve seen before from Ferrell, but don’t be deceived. His latest foray into the genre may be the best one yet.
Semi-Pro stars Ferrell as the eccentric Jackie Moon, who is a player, owner and coach for his basketball team, the Flint Tropics. When the league the Tropics belong to, the American Basketball Association, decides to merge with the NBA, Moon and his team are forced to fight their way to the middle in order to make the cut and get into the NBA. Believe it or not, the ABA-NBA merger is actually true, and as such, familiar teams like the Nuggets, Spurs, Nets and Pacers are mentioned in the film.
The movie isn’t an over-the-top slapstick mess for Ferrell to play around in like some of his other movies, but rather an organized parody with a peculiar central character. In fact, Ferrell is used somewhat sparingly, giving the other actors some time to make a name for themselves and allowing Ferrell’s act to be all the better.
Co-starring with Ferrell is Woody Harrelson from the Oscar-winning film No Country for Old Men. Harrelson represents the more serious, but still comic portion of the movie. He’s also surrounded by the only drama in the movie thanks to an ex that is now married and a championship ring he earned while on the bench. For the most part, the dramatic elements work and fit right into the movie but are also fairly shallow.
Alright, alright, so you’re probably wondering if it is funny or not. Well the answer is yes, it is. All-out brawls on the court during commercial breaks to avoid fines, bear fights and dance numbers in sea horse costumes make up the more ridiculous humor in the movie, which is consistently on target. Moon also holds promotions that he thinks are impossible to achieve, causing him to do things such as tackle his teammates in order to avoid giving free corn dogs to fans.
My favorite people in the movie are the announcers. Played by Andrew Daly, who was Ben Franklin on an episode of The Office, and Will Arnett. The two are a perfect match for each other. Arnett plays the whiskey drinking, raunchy guy to Daly’s clean-cut, Christian man who shines in every scene he is in. It may sound a bit cliché, but it is executed in a fun and unique way that makes scenes they are in glow.
Ever since Anchorman, I’ve been waiting for another funny Will Ferrell movie, and after a handful of misfires it seems that I’ve found what I’ve been looking for. If you are willing to deal with the sight of Ferrell in short-shorts for 90 minutes, then Semi-Pro will be worth your while.
Filed under: Review | Tagged: Jeff Mason
