2008 Woodie Awards
Now Playing: 'Semi-Pro'
Andrew Neuberger
Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Expressions
First he was an anchorman. Then he was a NASCAR driver. Then he became a professional ice skater. Now… he is appearing as an ABA basketball star. Will Ferrell returns to the silver screen with his same old act, but is it getting stale?
Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, the owner, coach and power forward of the Flint Michigan Tropics, a struggling ABA basketball squad. Since the movie is set in 1976, the costume designers exaggerated the hair and outfits of the 70s’. With half-foot high afros, bad mustaches and “pimp” suits, this film is as retro as you are going to get for the year. In fact, Ferrell grew his own hair out for “Semi-Pro,” taking over six months to reach maximum “’fro-ness.”
The Flint Tropics are a bad team. Usually averaging 30 fans a game, the Tropics have a small, loyal fan base, including the cheerleaders. Oh, and don’t forget that the team loses most of the time.
The team consist of a variety of misfits, most of whom are either 15 pounds overweight or foreign, but they do have a few good players. Moon and “Coffee” Black (Andre Benjamin) are two of them. The pair of announcers seems to discuss their personal lives more than the game itself. The Tropics are a violent bunch; they even get into a battle royale during a commercial break (which is the best scene in the film, bar none).
The Tropics are in a bit of a pickle. With the NBA and ABA planning to merge, only four ABA teams will be able to go over to the NBA (the Nets, Spurs, Nuggets and Pacers).
After Moon has a successful screaming and flinging-his-arms-around match with the ABA commissioner, the league decides to let the best four teams at the end of the season into the NBA. And each team must have 2,000 fans minimum at their home games. So the Tropics must get to work. They start by signing an old Boston Celtics benchwarmer, Ed Monix (Woody Harrelson).
The movie showcases Ferrell’s talents as a comedian and gives equal time to Harrelson’s Monix and Benjamin’s “Coffee” Black. Typical Ferrell randomness and explicatives aside, Harrelson and Benjamin bring their own styles of humor to the court and they mix well with Ferrell’s hi-jinx.
There are several great comedic moments in “Semi-Pro.” Many of them are promotional gigs for the Tropics’ team. Some, such as Moon wrestling a live bear, free corn dog night and the team all dressed up as seahorses during halftime highlight the best moments in the film. Also, I cannot forget the puke sequence. Pure genius.
I couldn’t find as many one-liners in “Semi-Pro” as in previous movies, like “shake ‘n’ bake” in “Talladega Nights,” but having the R-rating helps, since Ferrell really has more leg room for his self-serious and delusional humor.
I really enjoyed “Semi-Pro,” and though it was better than “Blades of Glory.” It didn’t feel as special as “Anchorman” or “Talladega Nights,” both of which I am quite fond. For all Ferrell fans and newcomers to his gig alike, you shouldn’t be disappointed. Remember, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
MY RATING: 8.0/10
Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, the owner, coach and power forward of the Flint Michigan Tropics, a struggling ABA basketball squad. Since the movie is set in 1976, the costume designers exaggerated the hair and outfits of the 70s’. With half-foot high afros, bad mustaches and “pimp” suits, this film is as retro as you are going to get for the year. In fact, Ferrell grew his own hair out for “Semi-Pro,” taking over six months to reach maximum “’fro-ness.”
The Flint Tropics are a bad team. Usually averaging 30 fans a game, the Tropics have a small, loyal fan base, including the cheerleaders. Oh, and don’t forget that the team loses most of the time.
The team consist of a variety of misfits, most of whom are either 15 pounds overweight or foreign, but they do have a few good players. Moon and “Coffee” Black (Andre Benjamin) are two of them. The pair of announcers seems to discuss their personal lives more than the game itself. The Tropics are a violent bunch; they even get into a battle royale during a commercial break (which is the best scene in the film, bar none).
The Tropics are in a bit of a pickle. With the NBA and ABA planning to merge, only four ABA teams will be able to go over to the NBA (the Nets, Spurs, Nuggets and Pacers).
After Moon has a successful screaming and flinging-his-arms-around match with the ABA commissioner, the league decides to let the best four teams at the end of the season into the NBA. And each team must have 2,000 fans minimum at their home games. So the Tropics must get to work. They start by signing an old Boston Celtics benchwarmer, Ed Monix (Woody Harrelson).
The movie showcases Ferrell’s talents as a comedian and gives equal time to Harrelson’s Monix and Benjamin’s “Coffee” Black. Typical Ferrell randomness and explicatives aside, Harrelson and Benjamin bring their own styles of humor to the court and they mix well with Ferrell’s hi-jinx.
There are several great comedic moments in “Semi-Pro.” Many of them are promotional gigs for the Tropics’ team. Some, such as Moon wrestling a live bear, free corn dog night and the team all dressed up as seahorses during halftime highlight the best moments in the film. Also, I cannot forget the puke sequence. Pure genius.
I couldn’t find as many one-liners in “Semi-Pro” as in previous movies, like “shake ‘n’ bake” in “Talladega Nights,” but having the R-rating helps, since Ferrell really has more leg room for his self-serious and delusional humor.
I really enjoyed “Semi-Pro,” and though it was better than “Blades of Glory.” It didn’t feel as special as “Anchorman” or “Talladega Nights,” both of which I am quite fond. For all Ferrell fans and newcomers to his gig alike, you shouldn’t be disappointed. Remember, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
MY RATING: 8.0/10
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