Semi Pro Review

Some people like Will Ferrell. Some people don't like Will Ferrell. Some beleive him to be a God of comedy, others want to smash his face in with a brick. I think he's stupid. I think he has a stupid face, he says stupid things and he acts stupidly. This abundunce of stupidity, in my mind makes him very funny and after a couple of misses with Talladega Nights and Blades Of Glory he is back on top form with Semi Pro.

Will is, the aburd and of course stupid, Jackie Moon. A one hit wonder with the disco anthem Love Me Sexy, he now owns, coaches and plays in the Flint Michingan Amateur Basketball team. For Jackie and his team the dream to play in the NBA is dangled in front of them under the proviso that they finish in the top 4 and raise their attendance. To help with their promotion bid they enlist the help of an NBA has-been and to raise the gate Jackie tries increasingly elaborate methods of promotion.

These last two features of the movie ably sum up where the story comes from and where the jokes come from. When Jackie is wrestling bears and jumping over cheerleaders on rollerblades the laughs are constant and big. When Woody Harrelson pops up to inspire the team and it becomes an underdog sports movie, the film grinds to a halt. His scenes with the lovely Maura Tierney seem to belong to another movie entirely. But hey, the guy is high so much he probably thought he was making another movie. God bless him.

The 70's soundtrack is at times irritatingly overfamilier, even if Jackies hit that opens the movie is worth a chuckle on the cover alone. The highlight, as always in the sports movie as comedy, is the sparring commentators. This time around its Will Arnett and Andrew Daly fulfilling their roles with perfection. They manage to scene steal in a way that makes you think they could have their own movie. Now thats not a bad idea! The Commentators. I can see it now.