Posts Tagged ‘Semi-Pro’
2 items.
In Wednesday’s blog I talked about today’s comic being a continuation on our discussion of the subjectivity of comedy. I’m also aware that I mentioned Tom would be on the receiving end of additional come-uppance for his negative comments toward Witless Protection and fans of Larry the Cable Guy.
Then I hit on this idea of a perpetual cycle of abuse involving atomic wedgies and I had to go that route.
Jared’s opinion of Will Ferrell has been stated once before and the outcome was similarly disasterous. So it’s nice to revisit that motif while maintaining continuity.
Back to our conversation about subjectivity in comedy… It’s not really fair for me to pick on fans of Larry the Cable Guy because I am a die hard Will Ferrell fan and am waiting in breathless anticipation for his new movie Semi-Pro, coming out next Friday.
In my rational mind, I know that this is just another dip in the same well for Ferrell. Again he plays a paunchy, unweildy sports start who fancies himself God’s gift to women. It’s a character we’ve seen him play several times before and the odds of diminishing returns are stacked against a film like Semi-Pro because there’s only so many times you can do the same thing before audiences get bored. Just ask Mike Meyers.
It’s somewhat depressing to me that Ferrell chose to make Semi-Pro so soon after Blades of Glory. Considering the range and emotional maturity he displayed in Stranger Than Fiction, I had kind of hoped he would be more attracted to those kinds of roles and that he would “return to his roots,” so to speak, only when it was financial necessity or if he had to raise his profile a little.
I think fans like me are never going to get tired of his buffoonish persona. But good things come in small doses. I mean, both Old School Dos and a potential sequel to Anchorman are in the works. That’ll keep me happy for the next 10 years. But don’t lower your stock by putting out a half dozen sports comedies in the meantime.
Excuse me. I slid off into a rant.
My point (contrary to the tone of the last few paragraphs) is that I LIKE Will Ferrell. I like him a lot. I like him to the detriment of my own time, money and patience. I like him to the point that I wlll see him in nearly any movie he’s in just for a glimpse of something brilliant or some quotable line that I’ll be regurgitating for the next two weeks. You’re talking to the guy who saw Ferrell’s remake of Bewitched IN. THE. THEATER!
So, in other words, I probably shouldn’t be throwing stones at the Larry the Cable Guy fans.
That’s all I’ve got for now. QUICK REMINDER – Me and The Triple Feature crew will be doing a special post-Oscars broadcast Sunday night at 11:00 PM CST. We’re going to give your our gut reaction to the awards ceremony while it’s still fresh in our heads. What do we think of the winners? Who got screwed? Who’s wearing the prettiest dress? All that jazz. Then, Monday, we’re doing our regular show at our regular time with a more in-depth discussion of the Oscar telecast while we take your calls.
For those of you who don’t know (maybe those of you reading this post over at FirstShowing.net), The Triple Feature is a podcast that I host every Monday night with two of my web comic buddies. Both of my friends write and draw their own movie-related webcomics. Joe Dun from Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex. We’ve known each other for a few years, have hung out at conventions together and then in late 2006 decided “Hey! We all like talking about movies! Let’s start a podcast!”
And The Triple Feature was born.
We host our podcast at TalkShoe.com and we love it because it allows us to record our show in real-time while accepting calls from listeners and fielding discussion topics in the same-time chat field they offer. If you’ve never listened to a podcast through Talk Shoe, you should give it a try. We love communicating with our listeners and love it when they call in to ask us questions! Sign up now so you’ll be ready for the next two shows!
So, remember – post-Oscar show at 11:00 PM CST Sunday and full recap of the Oscars Monday at 9:00 PM CST. Mark it down on your calendars and we’ll see you then!
Have a great weekend, everybody!
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I know I kind of covered a little ground already in regards to Semi-Pro, but I decided to revisit that territory after having the chance to sit down and watch the film over the weekend.
How was it? In a word – “terrible.”
You have no idea what the weight of that lone word means coming out of my mouth. I’m a huge Will Ferrell fan. How huge? How about “A Night at the Roxbury wasn’t that bad” huge? I’m willing to forgive a lot when it comes to Ferrell’s misfires.
I’ve never been able to fully explain what it is about Ferrell I find so interesting. I think the majority of it has to do with his delivery. Just the way he’ll put emphasis on a certain word in a sentance hit me just right.
For example, there’s a scene in the trailer where a woman suspiciously asks Ferrell’s minor-league basketball lethario Jackie Moon if he’s ever been to an orgy…
“I just GOT BACK from an orgy!” he responds, incredulously.
On paper… not funny. But Ferrell makes it funny.
Incidentally, that scene is nowhere NEAR the final cut of the movie. Actually, there are a lot of scenes in the trailer that aren’t in the movie. The thing is, even if you tossed them back in, I don’t think it would have made a lick of difference.
That’s the problem with this train wreck – it has no direction from an editorial standpoint. So the jokes that are mixed in to the plot have no anchor to the events happening inside said plot. Everything feels very random or loosely tethered together at best. You could have swapped out any of those missing scenes from the trailers with the final cut and not gained anything.
If you’re unaware, Semi-Pro is about a minor-league 1970’s basketball team – the Flint, Michigan Tropics – who have a chance to be absorbed into the NBA after a franchise merger. They’re lead by owner / coach / power-forward Jackie Moon, who cami into posession of the team with the earnings of his #1 hit single “Love Me Sexy” – which really only exists to give Ferrell the opportunity to sing a goofy disco-era sex ballad. It works. The song is damn catchy.
The movie does a good job establishing Moon and a tireless, inventive and somewhat reckless promoter who will do anything for his team. But when shallow stunts fail to draw in the crowds Moon needs to be considered for the merger, he brings in former NBA Champion Ed Monix, played by Woody Harrelson. And it’s at this point that the movie comes completely off the rails.
Narratively, it wouldn’t be interesting to watch an entire movie of endless promotional schemes cooked up by Ferrell’s character. Actual basketball has to come into play. So Harrelson as Monix attempts to whip the team into shape in order to win a few games. Traded for a washing machine, the real reason he accepted the gig is to be closer to a former flame played by Maura Tierney who happens to be dating Monix’s biggest fan played by Rob Corddry.
These are all distraction that subtract focus away from Ferrell. Not that Ferrell can’t be an effective ensemble player. His tenure on Saturday Night Live and his apperances in Anchorman and Old School prove that.
The problem is that you have two divergent storylines going on. Monix’s attempt to rekindle his relationship has nothing to do with the Tropics winning “the big game” or anything else, for that matter. What’s worse is that Harrelson appears to be playing the role completely straight. We’ve al seen what Harrelson can do in a movie like Kingpin. It’s a shame he didn’t bring a little more of that to the table.
Someone who also plays it straight is Andrew Daly, who plays the Tropics play-by-play commentator – and he gets more laughs doing it. In fact, I’d say he stole the picture right out from under everyone else. No small feat considering the level of (supposed) comedic talent available in this movie.
Semi-Pro ranks as one of Ferrell’s worst. It’s right up there with Kicking and Screaming and Bewitched, if you ask me. What makes it that much more of a dissapointment is the potential lost. Considering this film seems to mix the two obscure genre’s Ferrell has mined some of his best gags from – 70’s kitched and weird sports – you’d think it would be a home run. Instead it comes off like a desperate, garbled mess.
In fact, you can instantly see how desperate the film is considering the high number of obscenities in the picture. I’m all for a comedy reaching for the hard “R” rating is what’s being offered is shocking or outrageous. But in Semi-Pro, they’re just throwing it around casually. And, believe me, you’ve never noticed how much Will Ferrell DOESN’T swear in his movies until you sit through a film where he does almost NOTHING BUT swear through the entire running time.
If you’re a Ferrell fan like me, stay far, far away from Semi-Pro. Instead, watch this trailer for his next movie, Step Brothers with John C. Reily – which looks much more promising.
That said, I’m sure that we’ll have LOTS to go over tonight during our LIVE broadcast of The Triple Feature podcast over at TalkShoe.com. Be sure to join us at 9:00PM CST with your comments and opinions! We’d be happy to take your calls!
BE THERE!
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