A Step Down From "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights"

Rating: 4/10 (8 July 2008)

"Semi-Pro" is essentially the same thing as his other recent movies ("Blades of Glory", "Talladega Nights", "Anchorman") but didn't make me laugh near as much.
"Semi-Pro" is about Jackie Moon, a singer, who owns, coaches and plays on the Flint Michigan Tropics, a team in the ABA who aren't very good. It's 1976, and the ABA is about to merge with the NBA, but only the 4 best teams will make it into the NBA. Jackie Moon must lead the Tropics into one of the top 4 spots to save his team.
So, you know, basically the synopsis for every sports movie ever made. Team sucks, a guy comes in to motivate the team, the team doesn't suck. Wow, that plot line hasn't been done before. I would love a sports comedy where the main team just ends up losing. But that's not the point here. Is the movie funny? Yes and no. It's basically the same exact movie as last year's "Blades of Glory". And 2006's "Talladega Nights". "Anchorman" was a little different, but it's the same sort of thing. If you've seen those three movies, you've basically seen this movie. But wait, you say, this one's rated R. That must make a difference. No, not really. It just adds in a lot more f-bombs and sex jokes. (neither of which make the film more funny) There are a few good jokes here and there, but overall, I didn't laugh as much as I did, in say, "Anchorman". I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that the other movies had a strong supporting cast, while this one had the guy from Outkast. Maybe it was the fact that I just got tired of the same old jokes every time. I guess I don't know what didn't make it as funny, it just wasn't as funny.
A lot of the humor just seemed forced and thrown in there for no real reason. Not many of the supporting players are that funny (Will Arnett didn't even make me laugh) and that is part of the reason that it's a step down from "Anchorman", which has a great supporting cast with Paul Rudd and Steve Carell.
I guess I really don't have much to say about "Semi-Pro", other than it just didn't make me laugh. Who knows, you may like it, if you want another Will Ferrell sports comedy. But I was, for the most part, disappointed. The laughs were too few and far between for me to like it.
I say to SKIP "Semi-Pro", and give it a below average 5 out of 10. Hey, I made it the whole review without calling the movie "semi-good" or "Semi-bad". That's an accomplishment.