If you like Will Ferrell and his troupe of comedy actors, well some of them, you’ll probably like this film depending on your mood. Therein, of course, lies the rub, it really does depend on what mood you are in. As full on silly comedy Semi Pro probably just makes it but with a lineage going back to the great ice-hockey comedy Slap Shot it has given itself a tough task.
It is not that the preposterous situations are funny, the scrapes, the goodies and the baddies, they are all okay in their own way but it genuinely is not anything you haven’t seen before.
Will Ferrell’s manic, almost mentally impaired, fool with a heart, is not anything he hasn’t done before and not anything he cannot do in his sleep. In fact, at times during the film you can definitely feel he is cruising somewhat.
Likewise, the cast all funny in their own right, are hardly stretched from the start to finish. In particular Woody Harrelson is not given much to work with that he hasn’t done several times before and has not been seen even more times in other films by other actors, strangely enough he plays his pivotal role like he is in a straight drama. He’s not bad, but it’s just formula.
It is not as if the film is not funny or has laugh-out loud moments, it does, but if you’ve seen "Anchorman", "Ricky Bobby", "Blades of Glory" you will have seen his film, except it is about basketball, and that is a shame as there is definitely no lack of talent on display throughout.
If it’s raining outside and you’re at a loose end than pop this in the player, if you are really looking forward to a great comedy…hmmmm.
Possibly one of the worst movies I've ever seen
When this one first came out it was a bit of a letdown. It was not as good as most of the other Will Ferrell films of the era. However, with time I am starting to refer to this one as the last good one of the era. It is aging pretty well (inappropriate jokes included) and it made me genuinely laugh at many points. It is still not as great as others, but it is darn good.
Rating: 3/5 - 75% - Worth Watching
some really good one liners which I felt were improved by Ferrell. A welcome movie to turn off my brain and laugh
I love this dumb movie. It's so silly but full on quotable lines.
Best line: Dick Pepperfield: Jackie's teammates doing just an awful job of stabilizing his spine off the court.
For me its one of the Ferrell best jobs, the "alley oop" incident is pure comedy genius
Shout by clarence890BlockedParent2018-02-26T00:31:01Z
"-Duke, what do you do for living?"
"-Eh... nothing."