I always find that Will Ferrell's films can be a little hit and miss. He's either funny, or he tries a little too hard to be funny. Luckily, in the case of 'Semi-Pro,' he's the former. The film is clearly his vehicle, so whether it works or not is largely down to him. Here he plays Jackie Moon – the owner, coach and player of a low league basketball team who are about to get disbanded, unless they can scrape fourth place in the league.
For a start, you don't have to know or like basketball. I know nothing about it, but I enjoyed the film anyway. Yes, Ferrell is a little over the top here and there, but his performance never really borders on 'annoying.' It's not a long film, only an hour and a half, and most of it is packed with gags (all pretty adult in nature) and the majority of those work.
There are minor plot lines, but they're all secondary to Ferrell. Most other characters are only there to tee up Ferrell for him to deliver the punch line. Woody Harrelson is about the second most important character and he has a little more screen time. He's totally functional too, but Semi-Pro is still Ferrell's baby.
Basically, Semi-Pro won't win any awards. It's daft, loud and dumb, but ultimately very watchable if you're in the mood for a film like that.
Just beware of escaped bears!
