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REVIEW: SEMI-PRO

By Editor-in-Chief ⋅ April 12, 2008 ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

Jack Watson

Having starred in many of the comic gems of years past, such as Old School, Anchorman and more recently, Blades of Glory there is a good case for Will Ferrell being crowned king of noughties comedy. However, his latest offering, Semi-Pro is considerably weaker than previous efforts.

Obscure as ever, the plot follows aging popstar Jackie Moon who, upon the success of his no.1 hit ‘Love Me Sexy’, fulfils that most American of dreams and purchases local no-hoper Basketball team, ‘The Flint Tropics.’ The team is under the threat of being dissolved however, so it’s down to Moon and the eclectic ensemble of weirdo players to fill the normally empty seats and start winning the games.

Despite the appearance of other stars such as Andre Benjamin of Outkast fame and Woody Harrelson, this is a one man show. Ferrell shoots and scores with his unique style of delivery, while everything else falls short. The jokes are consistent but never manage to draw the guffaws and the subplots only take away from the comedy,

That said, the players leave with their pride and (some) dignity intact, and the same goes for the actors. That the Tropics settle for ‘4th place glory’ says something for the averageness of the film itself, which clearly isn’t trying to reach for the top but merely avoid a sin-bin. In the canon of Ferrell’s films, 4th is the position Semi-Pro can only dream of.