Will Ferrell scores again with Semi-Pro
Friday June 13 2008 By Peter Muhvic Semi-Pro
*** out of ****

Semi-Pro feels remarkably familiar: Will Ferrell’s antics as an egotistical blowhard pretty much carry over from one broad comedy to another. But that doesn’t stop Ferrell’s shtick, or his films, from delivering laughs.
Semi-Pro finds Ferrell playing Jackie Moon, owner, player and promoter of the minor league basketball team The Flint Tropics. With attendance being non-existent and the Tropics sitting at a well-deserved last place, there’s no reason for Moon to expect his club to be one of the four chosen to merge with the NBA. But expect this he does, and when it’s determined that the top teams from the league will survive as the others close shop, Moon sets his sights on the number four spot.
Moon’s first move is to trade the team’s washing machine for Monix (Woody Harrelson), a former benchwarmer in the NBA. He joins a motley crew that includes a flashy hotshot with skill but no sense of team play (the charismatic Andre Benjamin) and a giant Lithuanian who doesn’t speak English. It’s a typical collection of characters for a raunchy sports comedy, right down to the idiotic commentators, but they’re consistently funny. These aren’t new laughs, but their comfy laughs: There’s something soothing about throwing in a Will Ferrell comedy and getting exactly what you’re looking for.
Semi-Pro sticks to the most basic of game plans, but it’s hard to argue when the results are still winning.

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