Review: ‘Semi-Pro’ presents some laughters
Here’s how devoted Will Ferrell is to his craft: That ‘fro he rocks in “Semiprofessional”? It’s his real hairsbreadth, the merchandise of six calendar months of piece of work — or neglect, looking on your view.
The comic can for certain be apprehended for his commitment, if non for his creativeness. After all, you’ve understood this character earlier, this Jackie Moon, the owner-player-coach of the Flint, Great Lakes State, Tropics, a fledgling (and fancied) American Basketball Association team. It’s fundamentally the same self-serious, delusional guy Ferrell plays in near every moving picture he’s made: Ron Burgundy in scarce there polyester shorts; Ricky Bobby in nipple-clinging turtles.
It makes you wonder where else he can go with the role: competitive Tiddlywinks, maybe? But Ferrell does go for it, and either you’re with him or you’re non.
“Semi-Pro” is consistentlied funnier and more of a cohesive film, though, than the aggregation of laughs that was “Leaf blades of Glory.” And it has mored than a few blendings of “Slap Shot,” “Major League” and even “Bigwig.” It’s that one-last-shot-at-glory premise — non that the athletics element really matters in an athletics movie like this. It’s truly all about the silly vibration and the strong humor. (The playscript comes from Scot Armstrong, who has co-written such funniness as “Old School” and “Starsky & Shack.”)
The twelvemonth is 1976, and Kent Alterman, a longtime New Line executive devising his guiding debut, wallows in the period of time kitsch. Leisure time suits, bad moustaches, Sly & the Family Stone — no banality is gone away unturned.
Jackie is seeking to maintain the Tropics live as the NBA is abouted to ingest the four best teams from the ABA. (This really happened, by the manner: the Nets, Spurs, Pacemakers and Nuggets made the cut.)
Most of Jackie’s promotional ideas are only completely out there: bounce over a line of reasoning of cheerleaders in rolling wave skates and a ness; wrestling a live bear in a coop; dressing his mates in flamingo and ocean horse costumes for a halftime dance routine. But some of his pranks besides have to do with basketball game.
He trades the squad washing machine and conveyes in former Boston Celtics bench heater Ed Monix (Arboreous Harrelson) to aid his participants, including the showboating Clarence “Java Black” Withers (Andre Benjamin). But Ed is alsoed in Flint to rekindle a romance with his ex, played by Maura Tierney, whose new young man (Rob Corddry) falls out to be Ed’s large fan.
Yes, all the common suspects turn up in “Semiprofessional.” Besides Corddry, there’s David Koechner as the ABA commissioner, Will Arnett as the Tropics’ smoking, Scotch-swilling color observer and Andy Richter as the squad manager. But there are likewise some elysian casting selections, including Andrew Daly as the team’s no-nonsense play-by-play guy and Matt Walsh as Father Pat, a Catholic Christian priest who moonlights as a ref.
Will Jackie lead his team to that in demand fourth-place spot? Will Ed get the miss? Does any of this matter? There are enough individual seconds to hold you sufficiently distracted and riant the whole way through.
Oh, you may be inquisitive: How made such a wit come to command an entire basketball game team? Jackie made his money with the madly catchy 1970 R&B hit “Love Me Sexy,” a Barry White rip-off that incorporates lines like: “Baby, wake up. We’re bare. And we’re aphrodisiacal.”
It will be wedged in your head after the moving is overred — you’ll likely remember it better than most of the gags.
“Semi-Pro” is ranked R for linguistic communication and some intimate content. Bunking time: 90 proceedings.