Sorry it’s been so long. I know you’ve probably all forgotten about this blog, but really, give me another chance! I promise I can make more regular posts, really I can……
Anyway, Friday night I was treated to two good things: dinner at JK O’Donnell’s (an amazing Irish Pub right next door to where I work) and a movie: Semi-Pro, starring the always ridiculous Will Ferrell.
Let me begin my review by saying that I have a love-hate relationship with Ferrell’s movies. Some are great (Talladega Nights, Stranger Than Fiction) and some completely bomb in my book (Anchor Man, Old School). I know many people will never agree with me on this point, but I’m just letting you know that I tend to like Will Ferrell as a cameo (Wedding Crashers, Starsky and Hutch) more than I like his movies where he’s a leading man. Not that I don’t like him, but some of these movies are a little to ridiculous. Even for me.
So, with all that said, let’s move on. I enjoyed Semi-Pro, and I agree with user Zete’s comment on IMDb, “Not Ferrell’s best work, but still pretty funny.” I found myself quoting it later that night, which is a pretty good sign; however, that’s not always the best judge. For example, I have no desire to ever watch Anchorman again, but I absolutely crack up every time someone quotes it. I don’t know why, but it’s funnier as a one-liner rather than a full movie. But back to the movie at hand.
Semi-Pro tells the story of the Flint Michigan Tropics, a team in the doomed 1976 American Basketball Association. As the ABA collapses, the top four teams will be merged with the NBA, and owner-coach-player Jackie Moon (Ferrell) is determined to promote his last-place team into the top four. There were several glimpses into other characters’ lives, and I thought Woody Harrelson’s and Andre Benjamin’s characters were both played well and convincingly. I actually cared what happened to them in a movie designed to make you laugh and rarely think about people’s feelings. Will Ferrell was his usual funny, outrageous self, and you really have to love the guy for being able to pull off a lovable, goofy idiot movie after movie and still have people line up to go see him. The movie’s ending was a bit conventional and I even called the last play of the game well before it happened, but, when it comes to sports movies, they would all be terribly disappointing if they didn’t have the typical exciting Hollywood ending.
3 out of 5 stars because it’s a Will Ferrell movie I would actually watch again, I was quoting it almost immediately, and I really liked Harrelson’s and Benjamin’s roles.
