semi-pro

Sad you missed out on the short shorts and big hair of 1970s basketball? As evinced by Semi-Pro, you shouldn't be.

Semi-Pro is Will Ferrell's new comedy about a minor league basketball franchise, the Flint Tropics. Unfortunately, much like the floundering basketball team, this film struggles to find itself and is a disappointing, semi-funny movie.

Ferrell stars as Jackie Moon, a one-hit wonder, who translated his music royalties into a failing ABA basketball team, where he is player, coach and promoter, in addition to the team owner. When the ABA is set to merge with the NBA, Jackie's team has a shot at making the big time if they can become one of the top four teams in the league.

The cast features a bevy of familiar faces (Rob Corddry, David Koechner), but the best performances are put on by the Tropics's announcers (Will Arnet and Andrew Daly). Regrettably, the story seems to lose focus and spends an inordinate amount of time on washed-up veteran Monix (Woody Harrelson), almost relegating Ferrell to comic relief status.

The screenplay is written by comedy veteran Scot Armstrong (Old School, The Heartbreak Kid), but this script is surprisingly devoid of jokes. It's not a tremendous surprise that much of the attempts at humor are recycled from past Ferrell movies. From the wacky sports theme to the 1970s setting and style, it all feels tired and unoriginal.

The movie is a let down from the get go, and the laughs are few and far between. Furthermore, the movie seems to have been put together with astonishing laziness. Instead of a spoof in the vein of Talladega Nights, the film degenerates into the typical sports-underdog formula. Despite the attempts at making a sincere sports movie, the basketball team is never given depth, and the players remain caricatures.

Overall, laughter was more abundant during the preview for the upcoming Harold and Kumar sequel than during the entire film. The funniest moments Semi-Pro provides are not in the movie at all, but rather the Old Spice commercials that feature more typical Ferrell-style comedy.

Simply put, if you like Will Ferrell movies, go rent one of his older features. Don't waste your time on this one.