'Semi-Pro' is a loser - and not lovable

The sports "comedy" has some star power - namely Will Ferrell - but little else.

By Marty Clear, Times Correspondent
Published February 28, 2008

Will Ferrell, right, portrays Jackie Moon and Andrew Daly plays Dick Pepperfield in the movie "Semi-Pro."
	[AP photo]

Semi-Pro
Grade: D+
Director: Kent Alterman
Cast: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin, Maura Tierney, Andrew Daly
Screenplay: Scot Armstrong
Rating: R
Running time: 94 minutes.

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There's an odd trend in recent lowbrow comedies, especially those starring former Saturday Night Live hacks. They're written so that they couldn't appeal to anyone over the age of, say, 11 or 12, but they're full of so much offensive material that responsible parents wouldn't want their kids to watch them.

The latest example: Will Ferrell's basketball comedy Semi-Pro.

Given that it doesn't revel in depictions of excrement and vomit, Semi-Pro is a cut above others of its ilk.

But you would get just as many laughs by staring at a blank wall for 90 minutes as you would by watching this movie.

Nor is it safe for the kids, as the R rating indicates. In one scene a basketball fan masturbates while watching his girlfriend have sex with his favorite player. One inexplicable segment has the camera aimed at Ferrell's crotch as he squats repeatedly in tight gym shorts.

The idea is that Ferrell is a former disco singer who spent the money from his one big hit to buy a minor-league basketball team, which he also plays for. The team is a competitive and commercial failure but if it can beef up attendance and win enough games in one particular season, it has a chance to become part of the NBA.

So Ferrell enlists aging hoops star Woody Harrelson to coach the team and stages silly promotions to attract an audience.

It's about as witty, sophisticated and substantial as a Shemp-era Three Stooges short.

Then, toward the end, the film inexplicably tries to develop a heart. The team's chances of joining the NBA are extinct, but the players decide it's important for them to win their meaningless last game, which would allow them to finish fourth in their league. It's unclear whether the climactic Rocky-esque last game is supposed to be satirical or inspirational, but it doesn't really matter because it's neither.

The most intriguing aspect of Semi-Pro is that it attracted so much talent. Besides Harrelson, we get to see Maura Tierney, Andre Benjamin ("Andre 3000"), Andy Richter, Rob Corddry, Patti LaBelle, and Jackie Earle Haley. They can't rescue this insipid mess.

Marty Clear can be reached at mclear@tampabay.rr.com.

[Last modified February 27, 2008, 17:42:12]