ArtsEtc.

Ferrell movie not even semi-decent

Going into the theater, I wasn’t sure what to expect from “Semi-Pro” — whether it was the best of Will Ferrell, the worst or somewhere in between.

Ever since the huge success of “Old School” and “Anchorman,” Ferrell has been a star in the movie business and is definitely one of the most talented of the retired Saturday Night Live actors. But coming off the heels of “Talladega Nights” and “Blades of Glory,” his role in “Semi-Pro” seems a little recycled.

“Semi-Pro” throws the cockiness of Chazz Michael Michaels, the idiocy of Ricky Bobby and the competitiveness of Ron Burgundy into one character: Jackie Moon. The character is unmistakably familiar, but not necessarily in a good way.

“Semi-Pro” is set in Flint, Mich., America’s forgotten industrial town and home to a struggling American Basketball Association team, ironically named the Tropics. Moon heads the team as not only the owner and coach but also as the “star” forward, in which capacity he proves absolutely useless in the first five minutes of the movie. When the team risks termination due to a merger with the more prominent NBA, Moon and his cast of misfit teammates strive to obtain the fourth place spot to solidify membership in the basketball league.

Usually Ferrell’s comedic ability is multiplied by a supporting cast that can pass the ball back when it comes to firing off jokes. No one can deny that Ron Burgundy’s pals and nemeses made “Anchorman” 10 times better. However, in “Semi-Pro,” the weak supporting cast, led by Ed Monix, a mellow and outdated basketball player portrayed by Woody Harrelson (“No Country for Old Men”), rarely has any comedic input or even real contact with Ferrell. The rest of the cast, including Will Arnett (“The Brothers Solomon”), Andy Richter (“Blades of Glory”) and Rob Corddry (“The Heartbreak Kid”), also contribute nothing funny to the movie. Ferrell tries but fails to keep the movie going with random outbursts, physical humor, short shorts and one too many leisure suits.

For an R-rated movie, I at least expected something raunchy and gasp-inspiring much like the true to life verbal spouts between Michael Cera and Jonah Hill in “Superbad.” I found myself laughing in anticipation of something funny, but it all drifted away with the absence of a punch line, much like a buildup of a sneeze without the payoff.

Now, I’m not trying to hate on this movie just because it’s a stupid comedy — I absolutely love stupid comedies. However, my opinion is that you have to have the comedy first to justify the stupid. “Semi-Pro” would have been more enjoyable if the humor had not been done again and again in previous movies in the past few years. The most disappointing part of this movie was the potential that was present. With every respective Will Ferrell movie released, I am drawn to the next one in hopes it will make up for the previous release. Well, the search continues, and I have still yet to find a movie that made up for “Blades of Glory,” and I probably will never find one that makes up for this one. All in all, “Semi-Pro” was about as predictable as a Globetrotters game, with about half of the flair and none of the skill.

1 star out of 5