Semi-Pro D+
Starring Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, and Andre Benjamin
Rated R for language and sexual content
Appropriate for ages 17+
The Story: The NBA has decided to accept four minor-league franchises and to dissolve those not chosen. In order to become one of the chosen few, Flint Tropics owner and player Jackie Moon (Ferrell) devises stunts to fill the stands with fans and win enough games to go fully-pro.
The Good: The premise here isn’t bad. The cast is immensely talented. There is room enough for some big comedy. There are some good laughs to be had, but unfornately, you probably saw them in the trailer.
The Bad: While the potential is here, what they did with it is give us a lousy, unfunny pseudo-comedy. Most of the jokes seem more like random, improvised humor than what usually comes from a well-crafted script. Ferrell is his typical over-the-top self, but his humor backfires here and leaves the audience wondering about the inside jokes that lead up to this movie.
It baffles me why they made this an R-rated film. It seems that the humor here is aimed more at undescerning teenagers that just won’t know better. It’s like they threw in a few more bad words than you can get away with in a PG-13 just to get an R. I don’t mind a good R-Rated comedy, but most of them go all the way with it and this one doesn’t have a clue where it’s going.
The Summary: Step on up and see Ferrell shoot an air ball!