Eye Candy #319 - "Semi-Pro"

Semi-Pro:  When compared to both “Blades of Glory” and “Talladega Nights”, “Semi Pro” pales in comparison, as both a Will Ferrell comedy and a sports flick. In fact, it may be the weakest of all Ferrell’s comedies. This is the story of Jackie Moon, owner/coach/player of the Flint, Michigan Tropics in the American Basketball Assocation (the association was real, the Tropics, however, were not). Jackie is much more of a showman than a coach, who’d rather spend more time choreographing half-time dance presentations than actual basketball plays and fundamentals. With the impending merger of the NBA and ABA, the Tropics attempt to play better ball so they will be one of the teams that makes the cut. In doing so, they bring on board an older player, Monix (Woody Harrelson), who finds himself actually coaching the other players to make them better. We’ve also got Andre Benjamin (Andre 3000 from Outkast) and Will Arnett as commentator Lou Redwood. There are laughs here, just not as many as I’ve come to expect from Ferrell. Woodchuck sez, “Worth a look, but no Ricky Bobby.”