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 even player of a low league seventies 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.' This is largely because, as insufferable as he could be perceived, he's actually got his team's best interests at heart and, despite his minor fame and fortunes, he's quite a flawed and insecure character. Also, 'Semi-Pro' isn't 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 plotlines, 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 and, whereas Ferrell provides the laughs, Harrelson's character actually has something in the way of 'character development.' But, despite him being the 'heart' of the story, Harrelson is more of a 'functional' part of the tale and 'Semi-Pro' remains Ferrell's baby. David Koechner and Jackie Earle Haley are also on the cast list, but both of them - although always enjoyable in anything they do - are merely there as kind of 'extended cameos.'
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. Even though it's probably never going to be considered as good/funny as 'Anchorman' it could be thought that 'Semi-Pro' could be set in the 'same universe' (if we're talking in Marvel Shared Universe terms!).
Sit back, enjoy and just beware of escaped bears!
