“Semi Pro" (New Line Cinema)
Too Crude For Ferrell’s Fans
Will Ferrell’s new film is “Semi Pro,” a supposed fun look at the seventies. It has Ferrell playing a loveable but goofy man named Jackie Moon who is the owner/promoter/star of the Flint, Michigan basketball team – the Astros. A movie like this has the potential to amuse and entertain Ferrell’s large fan base, but it doesn’t. That fan base includes a lot of kids and they will be kept out by the R rating this movie has. Parents will not be tempted to bring the kids in because the film is one crude joke and phrase after another.
This descent into total crudeness was a slipup on the part of Ferrell. It is not just because it eliminates some of his fan base, but because the film relies on crudity rather than humor. “Old School” certainly had some crude moments but it was also funny. In this film it appears to be the belief of the moviemaker that if you say enough crude words then you will get the laughs. Doesn’t work that way!
Jackie Moon is a man with a team. It is hard to believe someone this inept could keep a franchise going but he has mainly through wild promotional stunts. When he learns there is a chance his team can be admitted into the professional arena he goes wild. But then he learns this is not going to happen unless they can raise their rank to sixth place nationally.
To get there he brings in a professional ballplayer named Monix (Woody Harrelson). He begins to coach the team and they actually improve but Moon is still coming up with the wild promotions in order to keep the team afloat financially.
None of this is interesting and very little of this is any fun. Ferrell immerses himself in the role of Moon but it is a wasted effort. Harrelson seems to be walking through his role. Andre Benjamin adds a spark as a key member of the team.
Nothing in the film brings it together. Ferrell appears to be acting in one film, Harrelson another, and Benjamin a third. Maura Tierney strolls through like a visiting actress who only has a limited time to film her scenes. Where is the spark in this movie, where is the heart, where is the entertainment!
The movie is rated R for profanity, crude language and violence.
“Semi Pro” is a major setback in Ferrell’s career. He has been in a downward spiral since “Talledega Nights.” Comedies need to be funny, not just dirty. Come on Will, snap out of it and get back to being the solid actor and really funny man you can be.
I scored “Semi Pro” an amateurish 4 out of 10.
