Nappaland's MovieBlog
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SEMI-PRO (R)
Plot Summary: When his basketball team faces the possibility of being disbanded, one man must fight to rally his teammates and shoot for the NBA.
Reason for the Rating: Language and some sexual content.
The other day, a friend of mind watched the classic cinematic comedy Caddyshack on cable television. Our conversation about it went something like this:
FRIEND: I just re-watched Caddyshack. It’s not as funny as I remembered it.
ME: But it’s supposed to be a comedy classic.
FRIEND: Actually, it’s not even funny at all.
ME: But I thought everybody loved that kind of humor.
FRIEND: No. It’s quite lame. Our collective sense of movie humor has evolved since then.
ME: Hmmm.
The reason I attempt to re-create this brilliant—and I’m sure quite riveting—conversation for you is because it got me thinking. Movies like Caddyshack and others of its time do seem a bit outdated these days. We are now living in the ironic and exaggerated comedic world of shows like The Simpsons and The Office; slapstick just isn’t as funny as it used to be. And I think my friend hit the nail on the head: comedy does seem to evolve with the times.
This whole idea brings me right to my case in point: Semi-Pro. It’s another in a long line of crazy comedies starring Will Ferrell—this time as the owner/coach/starting forward of a minor league basketball team in the 1970’s—but this one just isn’t that comedic. Yes, there are a few laughs, but many of them feel forced, and overall it’s more of a cheesy underdog story than a true comedy. Which leads me to the question: Has our sense of humor finally evolved beyond Will Ferrell? After watching Semi-Pro, I think perhaps it has.
The movie, obviously,
centers on Ferrell’s character, Jackie Moon. Moon struck it rich in the early
70’s by recording a raunchy dance song, and he used much of his riches to
purchase the Flint Michigan Tropics, Flint’s minor league basketball team. (The
tropics are part of the American Basketball Association, or ABA, which is
basically the lower rung of the NBA.) Although the Tropics only really have one
talented player, Clarence ‘Coffee’ Black (played by Andre Benjamin), and barely
enough fans to fill one row of seats, Moon loves his team. Unfortunately, he’s a
horrible coach, and the ABA is failing as a league. This leads to the decision
by the league commissioner to merge the ABA with the NBA, which is much more
successful. At the end of the current season, four ABA teams will be absorbed
into the NBA. From then on the rest of the teams in the ABA will simply cease to
exist.
The four teams with the best records will be the teams that get to become part of the NBA, and this is a prospect that thrills not only Moon but the rest of his team as well. Unfortunately, the Tropics are in last place, so their chances of success are very slim. They will have to truly rally if they want to achieve the NBA dream.
I’m sure you can guess what happens as the movie progresses, and your guess is probably pretty close to being correct. As I said before, this is more of an underdog story than a comedy. There are a few somewhat unique plot elements, but even these aren’t too difficult to wrap your brain around. For example, the team brings on an ex-NBA player (played by Woody Harrelson) who ends up being their coach. This leaves Moon to focus more on promoting the game, which he does with typical Ferrell oddball antics. Moon’s job is to bring people to the games, because any team without a decent average attendance can’t be part of the NBA, winning record or not. Of course Moon’s promotional tactics are crazy, as we have all come to expect from Ferrell, but they don’t feel very fresh. There is also another twist that I won’t specifically reveal—in case you’re planning on watching this film—but I will say that it does more to make the movie meaningless than to shake things up.
Overall, Semi-Pro is
an average, predictable movie with some humor tossed in on the side. Much of
this humor, by the way, is dirty humor, and this movie is definitely not suited
for kids under the age of 15 or so. You’re kids will probably want to see this
film, but they shouldn’t. And with this movie you have an extra reason to say
no; you can tell them it’s not very funny anyway. Even starring the great Will
Ferrell as another eccentric character, Semi-Pro simply fails to deliver.
This brings me back to my initial question: Is Will Ferrell’s humor still relevant these days, or have we moved beyond his crazy alter egos? After watching Semi-Pro, I’m tempted to say we’ve moved on, but I’m not sure this problem is un-solvable. I think Ferrell can still carry a funny movie, but he needs more than just his shameless antics on screen. The problem with this movie is that it really only has one trick—and that trick is Jackie Moon. Sure, he’s a funny character, but the idea of a funny character only gets you so far. What has to follow is a funny plot involving that funny character. Otherwise, the whole thing falls a little flat. And that is exactly what happened in Semi-Pro.
So, maybe we haven’t exactly moved beyond Ferrell’s brand of humor. But I do think we have moved past the point where his presence alone is enough to create a hit.
MOVIEBLOG RECOMMENDS:
This movie is barely funny yet extremely pointless. Skip it…. and save both your time and your money.
AFTER THE SHOW:
• What do you think of Moon’s team motto, “Everybody Love Everybody”? How can you relate this to Christ’s teaching
• What does Semi-Pro teach about loyalty and it’s importance in our lives? What does the Bible have to say about loyalty
• Can you think of a time where you were challenged to be true to your beliefs? Did you succeed? Why or why not?
AH
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Note: All movie-related graphics in this column are standard publicity/promotional shots and are owned by their respective movie studios.