bowmanblue
I always find that Will Ferrell's films can be a little hit and miss. He's either funny, or he tries a little too hard to be funny. Luckily, in the case of 'Semi-Pro,' he's the former. The film is clearly his vehicle, so whether it works or not is largely down to him. Here he plays Jackie Moon – the owner, coach and player of a low league basketball team who are about to get disbanded, unless they can scrape fourth place in the league.For a start, you don't have to know or like basketball. I know nothing about it, but I enjoyed the film anyway. Yes, Ferrell is a little over the top here and there, but his performance never really borders on 'annoying.' It's not a long film, only an hour and a half, and most of it is packed with gags (all pretty adult in nature) and the majority of those work.There are minor plot lines, but they're all secondary to Ferrell. Most other characters are only there to tee up Ferrell for him to deliver the punch line. Woody Harrelson is about the second most important character and he has a little more screen time. He's totally functional too, but Semi-Pro is still Ferrell's baby.Basically, Semi-Pro won't win any awards. It's daft, loud and dumb, but ultimately very watchable if you're in the mood for a film like that.Just beware of escaped bears!
Sam Francis
If anyone like me is a huge of Will Ferrell and his style of comedy, then there's no doubt that this is an excellent film choice for you, I loved it!Another sports comedy for Ferrell this time, after Talladega Nights (2005) and Blades of Glory (2007), once again proving itself winning formula with hilarious results.The film sees outspoken basketball franchise owner Jackie Moon who desperately tries to coach, play for and motivate his team when they hear the news that they will be dropped from the league.Will Ferrell is obviously brilliant playing the eccentric and overwhelming Jackie Moon, but is also supported by a great cast including Woody Harrelson, who takes well to his comedic role, Andre Benjamin (previously of Outkast fame) who looks a promising newcomer as a comedy actor and old favourites of Ferrell's movies including Andy Richter, Will Arnett and David Koechner.Full of snappy one liners that you'll be quoting for hours afterwards, and some truly outrageous scenes including Jackie wrestling a bear, and an on-court altercation with a priest! The highlight of this movie in my opinion is the poker game, I won't spoil it for you, but it's definitely not one to be missed it's side splittingly funny.Obviously, this movie is by no means perfect and the reason I've given it such a high rating is because I love these types of comedy and find Ferrell one of, if not the best in his field. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea but if you're looking for a good laugh with your friends and something not at all serious for your movie night then give 'Semi Pro' a chance it won't let you down!
John Harrison
Sports entertainment has never been so funny. Semi-Pro written by Scott Armstrong has the same satire comedy that you would expect from any other lead-based acting that Will Ferrell takes place in. Jackie Moon (played by Will Ferrell) is responsible for bringing his struggling franchise back up to relevance both competitively on the court and financially off of it. Joined by fellow actors Woody Harrelson and Andre Benjamin, Jackie Moon starts to incorporate wild and unseen promotions to encourage more fans to visit their games, all awhile the team starts to move up in the standings. Based in the 70's, this is one of the funniest sports comedies that I've ever seen. I would recommend for any sports fan or Will Ferrell fan to see this film.
Syl
I have to say that I was disappointed with this Will Ferrell film because he is so talented and the cast is full of equally talented and known people like Woody Harrelson, Rob Corddry, Andrew Daly, Christine Wiig, and Maura Tierney. The film is set in 1976 in Flint, Michigan before the city took an economic turn for the worse. It's actually Michael Moore's hometown. It would have been nice to have seen him in the film. Unlike his Blades of Glory, his Jackie Moon is a lot more tamer than his Chaz Michael Michaels character. There is a scene with Patti LaBelle but I won't spoil it for you. Apart from the language and the surprised PG-13 rating, this film is a lot tamer about the American Basketball Association dissolving and only taking four teams to the National Basketball Association. Will the Flint Tropics be one of the lucky teams, you will have to watch and see. There are some moments like when Jackie Moon wrestles with an actual bear and jumps over the cheerleaders to help improve audience numbers. Will Ferrell is still one of my favorite performers and even though the script needs improvement, the film is still watchable.
AD
