SEMI-PRO

Headline: ** Fitfully Funny **
Title: SEMI-PRO
Quality: * * Acceptability: -3
SUBTITLES: None
WARNING CODES:
Language: LLL
Violence: VV
Sex: SS
Nudity: N

RATING: R
RELEASE: February 29, 2008
TIME: 90 minutes
STARRING: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Maura Tierney, André Benjamin, Will Arnett, Andy Richter, David Koechner, and Rob Corddry
DIRECTOR: Kent Alterman
PRODUCER: Jimmy Miller
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Lauren Shuler Donner, Michael Aguilar, Toby Emmerich, Cale Boyter, Kent Alterman, and David Householter
WRITER: Scot Armstrong
BASED ON THE NOVEL/PLAY BY: N/A
DISTRIBUTOR: New Line Cinema

CONTENT: (PaPa, C, LLL, SS, N, AA, DD, M) Strong mixed pagan worldview with light Christian references, but set in a comical context; 66 obscenities (including many "f" words and some other strong language), seven strong profanities, three light profanities, and vomiting; strong comic violence such as scene where men play Russian Roulette and other things with apparently unloaded gun that turns out to have one bullet in it, fighting, objects smashed, man wounded in arm, and contact on basketball court; depicted clothed fornication in one scene, depicted voyeurism, implied sex in a photo, and off-color sexual jokes and references; upper male nudity and much female cleavage with basketball cheerleaders, plus man poses nude in photo with only a basketball covering his groin; alcohol use and drunkenness; smoking marijuana briefly and minor character appears stoned all the time; and, man sees dead mother in the clouds in a vision and she gives him some advice and a tip, basketball promoter tries to cheat fans who win contests, pride, and jealousy.

GENRE: Comedy/Spoof
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Older teenagers and adults

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SUMMARY: SEMI-PRO stars Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson in a somewhat raunchy comedy spoof ridiculing the 1970s and the old American Basketball Association that merged with the NBA in 1976. SEMI-PRO is fitfully funny, with an uneven narrative structure, and contains strong foul language and many off-color moments, so it deserves extreme caution.

IN BRIEF:

SEMI-PRO is a somewhat raunchy comedy spoof ridiculing the 1970s and the old American Basketball Association that merged with the NBA in 1976. The movie stars Will Ferrell as Jackie Moon, the owner-coach of the Flint, Michigan Tropics, a losing ABA franchise. Jackie sang the one-hit wonder, "Love Me Sexy." He tries everything to promote his team, but none of his crazy promos work. Then, the NBA announces it will be merging with the four ABA teams with the best record. Jackie trades the team's washing machine to the Kentucky Colonels, in exchange for one-time Boston Celtics player Ed Monix, played by Woody Harrelson. Ed helps Jackie and the team's "superstar," Clarence "Downtown" Withers (André Benjamin), rally the team to make a run for fourth place. Obstacles occur, however, that stand in their way.

SEMI-PRO is fitfully funny. The 70s and the ABA's goofy promotional gimmicks are ripe for good spoofing. The story suffers from comical digressions that interrupt the pacing. Also, the story contains strong foul language and many off-color elements, including a few strong ones, but SEMI-PRO is not overtly politically correct like Will Ferrell's last two outings.