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Soccer, Indy racing, figure skating and now basketball—Will Ferrell ( Kicking & Screaming / Talladega Nights / Blades of Glory ) sure likes his sports comedies. And well he might, seeing as they've brought him great success. From the opening credits (and the opening bars of the Ferrell-sung, 'Love Me Sexy' onwards), you know that Semi-Pro isn't going to be the film to halt that run.
Set in the early Seventies, Semi-Pro is the story of Jackie Moon (an afro'd and neckerchief-sporting Ferrell), the owner, coach and power forward of American Basketball Association (ABA) team, the Flint Tropics.
Left on the verge of dissolution thanks to the ABA's decision to merge with its more well-respected competition, the NBA, Jackie finds himself fighting a losing battle to keep his team in existence.
But with a little help from star player, Clarence "Downtown" Withers (André Benjamin— Four Brothers ) and new signing, Monix (Woody Harrelson, utilising his White Men Can't Jump honed b-ball skillz), the impossible might just prove to be possible as the Tropics mount an unlikely 11th-hour pursuit of glory and a last ditch shot at the big time.
A combination of every underdog sports movie and Ferrell-fronted comedy you've ever seen, Semi-Pro could hardly be called original. But when something's so consistently funny, that's nothing but a hollow criticism.
Ferrell is once again on fine form, bringing yet another lovable man-child to life in a way that only he can (will his shtick ever get dull?). He is, of course, ably backed up by an entourage of talented supporting players, the stand-outs this time being Andrew Daly ( School for Scoundrels ) as Dick Pepperfield and Will Arnett (TV's immortal comedy Arrested Development ) as Lou Redwood.
With too many laugh-out-loud moments to count, it's difficult to single out individual examples as particular highlights. But you can be sure that Semi-Pro's riotous take on The Deer Hunter's famous Russian roulette scene, the sexily-angled slo-mo shot (partially seen in the trailer) with Ferrell's Jackie Moon preparing for a free-throw, and the soon-to-be-a-classic, seductively-sung (by Ferrell) 'Love Me Sexy' scene, will make you chuckle long after the credits have rolled.
But with the bases now covered by Ferrell and his contemporaries (Adam Sandler did golf to a tee in Happy Gilmore, Ben Stiller did dodgeball in, erm, Dodgeball , and baseball is done in the peerless Major League, ) is it time, perhaps, for Will to leave the sporting parodies alone and concentrate on applying his hilarious brand of comedy to yet other humorous subjects?
Four stars out of five