Semi-Pro (2008)

Director: Kent Alterman

Cast: Will Ferrell as Jackie Moon, Woody Harrelson as Monix, André Benjamin as Clarence, Maura Tierney as Lynn, Andrew Daly as Dick Pepperfield, Will Arnett as Lou Redwood, Andy Richter as Bobby Dee, David Koechner as Commissioner, Rob Corddry as Kyle, Matt Walsh as Father Pat the Ref, Jackie Earle Haley as Dukes, DeRay Davis as Bee Bee Ellis, Josh Braaten as Twiggy Munson, Jay Phillips as Scootsie Double Day, Peter Cornell as Vakidis

The Tropics are an unsuccessful basketball team in the ABA who are
mainly kept afloat by the deep pockets and shameless self-promotion of
their owner-player-coach Jackie Moon. However the team looks to be
coming to an end as the league is collapsing and has agreed to a merger
with the much more popular NBA - although only four teams will go
through. After forcing a vote in the ABA committee, Jackie gets the
pre-selected four teams changed to be the top four teams of that season
- a victory only of sorts as his beloved Tropics are far from that
lofty league position. So the race begins for Jackie to get his team
winning and hit the other requirements to become a NBA team.

Semi-Pro did not really appeal to me when it was advertised because, in
so many ways, I felt I had seen the plot, the jokes and the characters
before in many other "wacky" sports movies. When it would come to me on
DVD instead of me going to it though I decided to give it a try and
waited for a time when I was in a simple mood so I could enjoy it.
Sadly it turned out to be worse than I thought and the whole film feels
like everyone going through a tick list and doing things without a
great deal of inspiration or energy. It has its silly moments that some
will enjoy but mostly the gags are not that good and it came across
like the writer was reliant on the cast to make it sparkle in a way
that he hadn't on paper. Outside of the gags we have subplots that
don't work and moments of semi-seriousness that only serve to bore the
viewer rather than engage - for example I am not sure why I was
supposed to care about Monix and Lynn or why so much time was given
over to their relationship.

Fans of this type of film may still enjoy this but for the majority of
people it will be a case of too much doing too little and the stuff
that does show potential not being that well delivered. A lot of the
fault rests with the writer Armstrong, a man whose recent work is less
than inspiring but lets share the blame to include the directing debut
of Alterman, someone who clearly has clout enough to make this happen
without anyone suggesting he might not be up to it. His direction does
not suit the material and he cannot draw the comedy out. I assume that
he too must have been hoping that the right cast will make it fly, but
it doesn't happen. Ferrell himself is not to blame as he does his best
with what he has and indeed his Jackie Moon character is a good enough
one by his standards. The problem comes from the material as it doesn't
rise to meet him - a problem that abandons him but leaves others bogged
down. Harrelson is the worst victim as he has to carry a character and
subplot that nobody cares for - likewise Tierney is wasted. Benjamin
and the other players are OK but Arnett and Daly are only sporadically
funny in roles that were infinitely funnier in Dodgeball.

Semi-Pro is not a terrible film and it certainly will have some viewers
in stitches but for me personally it was tiresome in too many ways.
Whole parts of it just didn't work within the requirements of the genre
and too many sequences just seemed reliant on the cast pulling
something out by their mere presence. The end result is uninspiring at
best and there are many other films that are just like this one that
are better than this tired effort.