Movie and Television Reviews

(+1 for the Tropics girls)

Semi-Pro is the unfunniest comedy since Delta Farce and Will Ferrel's worst movie to date. He plays Jackie Moon, a one-hit wonder who purchases an ABA basketball team, the hapless Flint Tropics. When the ABA commisioner informs Moon that he plans to merge four ABA teams into the NBA (All of the teams except the Flint Tropics were real ABA teams.) and that the Tropics won't be one of them, Moon becomes upset. In a drawn-out boardroom scene, Moon convinces the commissioner to let the teams with the four best records merge. Moon then trades a washing machine for a washed-up point guard called Monix (Woody Harrelson) who gives the Tropics enough "hap" to compete with the rest of the league.

Besides the main story, there's a completely pointless romance between Monix and a newly-married ex-wife.

I'll just say that the plot leaps higher logically than the players on the court do physically.

Like fireworks that launch in the air only to disappear without exploding, every joke in Semi-Pro feels half-done, fizzling without producing so much as a snicker. An unintentional game of Russian roulette is telegraphed and really just grafted onto the movie. Upon reflection, and to give you an idea of how terrible the movie is, that whole five minutes is concentrated cinematic perplexity: Why mention Vietnam? What's the back story to newscaster's insane reaction to the term "Jive Turkey?" Why is getting shot in the arm funny? Why don't we see the injured character again?

There's a vomit scene that elicits shrugs instead of smiles; a painfully long dumpster scene; a court fight; and just about every other kind of forced, predictable gag that one can imagine. Others just leave one hanging and wondering why someone would even think they're jokes in the first place: Is Will Farrel's mom being black supposed to be funny by itself? Is a crotch shot? Semi-Pro like one long Will Farrell riff or bad Tonight Show appearance. It's not that Farrell doesn't try: Never has an actor labored so hard for so few laughs.

Not only is every joke unfunny, but Semi-Pro actually disturbs at times. When Lynn's husband catches Monix and her having sex, he starts to masturbate. I think it's supposed to be amusing because he's such a big fan of Monix that he doesn't mind him sleeping with his wife, but it just made me turn away.

If the above aren't enough problems, the director gets the easiest part of a period movie, the soundtrack, all wrong. Earth to soundtrack guy: Sly and the Family Stone have nothing to do with 1976. On the other hand, Jackie's song, Love Me Sexy is pretty funny. Watch it below and save 90 minutes of your life.

The beer commercial below is more entertaining than the movie itself.

Message/ Politics:

Pride is a sufficient rationale for effort.

Finally, could Will Farrell be going the way of Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, and Adam Sandler, formerly funny actors whose act has run its course?