“Semi-Pro” stars slapstick comedian Will Ferrell and features a supporting cast that include Woody Harrelson, Will Arnet, Andre Benjamin, and Rob Corddry. This is the directorial debut for Kent Alterman, who was the Executive Producer of “Elf”, and written by Scot Armstrong (Road Trip, Old School).

“Semi-Pro” centers on the crowd pleaser Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell), a well out-of-shape basketball player that resorts to ridiculous stunts to fill in the unoccupied bleachers. After being told that the NBA plans to merge the top four best teams in the ABA at the end of the season into the NBA, Jackie Moon and his team have to dig their way out of last place in order to become an NBA team.

Please excuse my review if it is far less intelligent than my previous ones, I just watch “Semi-Pro”. This is typical Will Ferrell, blurting out obscenities and humiliating himself once again. Some of the scenes end up being fairly funny (although most of these scenes are played out). Woody Harrelson is surprisingly humorless here. Whats wrong with “Semi-Pro” is that it all feels like a Will Ferrell re-run, basically using the same tired material that’s been evident in his previous films, such as “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights”.

The basketball scenes are shot poorly. Will Ferrell tries his hardest here, (as always) but falls short of creating a memorable comedy. Just seconds after watching it, I forgot the funny parts. The second-rate editing was what really ruined the comedic timing of the jokes. I was never really a fan of Will Ferrell, but after “Blades of Glory”, I thought I would give “Semi-Pro” a chance. I should’ve just avoided it. Why doesn’t it take me by surprise that Andre Benjamin was funnier than Will Ferrell? Maybe it’s because Will Ferrell is the same as always here, bringing nothing new to the table. One thing is for sure, Will Ferrell displays the greatest fro on earth.

Skip it, unless you have a crass sense of humor, which I hope you don’t. The ending was predictable and completely inane. The first half of the movie is semi-funny, but it’s not long before all of this becomes exhausting. This is a pretty decent directorial debut, but I was expecting more from a guy who has previous experience in movies, being a executive producer and all. My suggestion to Will Ferrell is to stop making sports comedies, they are getting old. Semi-Pro is semi-gray.

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