The Clarion

Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: courtesy of New Line Cinema Will Ferrell goes balls deep in his new comedy about a minor league basketball team in 'Semi-Pro.' [Click to enlarge]

The 2004 release of "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," launched Will Ferrell from relative obscurity and onto the A list of comedy stars.

Since then, he has proven himself a solid comedic actor time and time again, but nothing that quite lives up to the lofty expectations he set in "Anchorman." Unfortunately, "Semi-Pro" is not the movie to change this.

The story follows Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell), an ex-singer/songwriter who hit it big once in the past and used the money he made to buy an American Basketball Association semi-pro franchise, the Tropics of Flint, Mich. However, his time living the good life is cut short when the ABA's commissioner (David Koechner) announces that the ABA will merge with the NBA, but only the four best teams will be allowed to convert.

In a desperate bid to bring the last-place Tropics up to fourth, Jackie Moon hires washed-up NBA player Monix (Woody Harrelson) to lead the team to victory. This irks the Tropics' star player, Clarence Black (Andre Benjamin), and creates a great deal of tension that threatens to tear the team apart.

"Semi-Pro" does a lot of things right. It is filled to the brim with absurdist humor, most of it quite good.

Thankfully, it also does not take itself too seriously. The comedy is undeniably lowbrow, but if you were going to this movie expecting something thought provoking, you must be crazy.

However, "Semi-Pro" also falls flat in some areas where it could have soared. A huge mistake the filmmakers made was to give so much attention to Harrelson's character Monix and his love interest Lynn (Maura Tierney). The movie would have functioned perfectly well without either of them, though Rob Corddry's addition to the love triangle redeemed it a little.

In addition, the movie sported some wonderful comedic actors whose talent was basically squandered. Andy Richter and Will Arnett, both brilliantly funny men, were given too few lines and too little screen time altogether.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools