Semi-Tough (1977)

A three-way friendship between two free-spirited professional football players and the owner's daughter becomes compromised when two of them become romantically involved.

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writers:

Walter Bernstein, Dan Jenkins (novel)

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Reynolds	...	Billy Clyde Puckett
Kris Kristofferson	...	Marvin 'Shake' Tiller
Jill Clayburgh	...	Barbara Jane Bookman
Robert Preston	...	Big Ed Bookman
Bert Convy	...	Friedrich Bismark
Roger E. Mosley	...	Puddin Patterson Sr.
Lotte Lenya	...	Clara Pelf
Richard Masur	...	Phillip Hooper
Carl Weathers	...	Dreamer Tatum
Brian Dennehy	...	T.J. Lambert
Mary Jo Catlett	...	Earlene Emery
Joe Kapp	...	Hose Manning
Ron Silver	...	Vlada Kostov
James MacKrell	...	Bud McNair (as Jim McKrell)
Peter Bromilow	...	Kostov's Interpreter

Storyline

A comedy about two football players and their mutual girlfriend. Includes many spoofs and parodies about various self-help groups and personal self-improvement seminars that were wildly popular during the 1970's.

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Plot Keywords:

american football | football player | self help group | dangling from a rooftop | satire | 

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Taglines:

They Lead The League In Scoring ... After The Game!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 1978 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Zwei ausgebuffte Profis

Filming Locations:

Tarrant County, Texas, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$37,187,139

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charley Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Burt Reynolds based his character on friend Don Meredith's football career.

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Goofs

When Miami scores the lone touchdown in the playoff game against Green Bay, the scoreboard displays a celebratory message. But the game is in Green Bay. No home team ever celebrates an opposing team's touchdown. especially in the fourth quarter of a playoff game.

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Quotes

Puddin Patterson Sr.: What you got is a bad case of Barbara Jane Bookman!
Billy Clyde Puckett: I've always had that. I just didn't know how bad until now.
Puddin Patterson Sr.: [realizing what Billy Clyde is up to and laughing] Oh man... you don't really think you're going to pull this scam off, do you?
Billy Clyde Puckett: I'm sure gonna give it my best shot.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: Single White Female/Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland/Light Sleeper/Rapid Fire/Diggstown (1992)

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Soundtracks

Back In The Saddle Again
(uncredited)
Sung by Gene Autry
Written by Gene Autry and Ray Whitley

User Reviews

Enervated satire pokes fun at everything but sports...

Advertised as a sexy comedy about pro-football players and their women, this Michael Ritchie film, based on the book by Dan Jenkins, instead takes aim at fads and other eccentricities of the 1970s, using the sports world as a backdrop. It wasn't the big commercial hit some were predicting, though it garnered good notices for Burt Reynolds, doing another of his amiable walk-throughs. Jill Clayburgh, just prior to her breakthrough in "An Unmarried Woman", plays the daughter of the football team's owner, and her rapport with Reynolds is surprisingly instantaneous. Kris Kristofferson, on the other hand, ends up playing straight man to her and pal Reynolds, and the third-wheel position subdues low-keyed Kristofferson even further (he evaporates). There are some funny potshots at the EST craze, with Bert Convy well-cast as a self-help guru, but the romantic comedy at the heart of the piece never quite takes off. Ritchie puts all his sting into the absurdities happening around the principals, a move which consequently leaves the finale seeming half-baked. ** from ****