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"SEMI-PRO" (2008) (Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Mild *Heavy Minor Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None None Moderate Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Moderate Mild Mild *Moderate QUICK TAKE: Comedy: With the help of a new and temperamental teammate, the owner/coach/player of a 1970s era ABA basketball franchise tries to inspire his squad to win so that they'll be one of the few teams folded into the NBA. PLOT: It's 1976 and Jackie Moon (WILL FERRELL) is the owner, coach and star player of the Flint Michigan Tropics. They're the lowly ABA team -- consisting of the likes of Clarence 'Coffee Black' Withers (ANDRE BENJAMIN), Bee Bee Ellis (DeRAY DAVIS), Vakidis (PETER CORNELL), Twiggy Munson (JOSH BRAATEN) and Scootsie Double Day (JAY PHILLIPS) -- that he purchased with the profits of his one-hit-wonder song. With play-by-play commentators Dick Pepperfield (ANDREW DALY) and Lou Redwood (WILL ARNETT) often outnumbering those in attendance, save for perennial stoned fan Dukes (JACKIE EARLE HALEY), things don't look good for the Tropics. That's even with the addition of temperamental player Ed Monix (WOODY HARRELSON) who's been traded to the team for a washing machine. It gets even worse when Jackie learns that the league is planning to fold, with only a few teams earmarked to join the rival NBA. Convincing the commission that the best teams in the ABA should get a shot, Jackie wants to get his squad on a winning streak. Unfortunately, he's as bad a coach as he is a player. All of which means Ed -- who's trying to get back with his former love, Lynn (MAURA TIERNEY) -- decides to step up and take over. As their fortunes seem to change for the better, the players must contend with various external and interpersonal issues that arise during their run. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of Ferrell, anyone else in the cast, or goofy sports comedies, they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For language and some sexual content. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: WILL FERRELL plays the owner, coach and star player of the team who behaves in a passive-aggressive, man-child sort of way, prone to egocentricity and tantrums. He uses strong profanity, and tries to get the team on a winning streak so that they aren't disbanded at the end of the season. He also sings sexually related lyrics from his hit song. WOODY HARRELSON plays a rival player who's brought onto the squad and clashes with his new teammates, but eventually takes over as their coach. He uses profanity, fights with opposing players, and has sex with Lynn. ANDRE BENJAMIN plays one of the players who isn't happy that Ed has joined the squad and thus gives him a hard time. He uses some profanity. MAURA TIERNEY plays Ed's former love who initially isn't happy to see him back in town, but ends up having sex with him (and thus cheats on her husband or live-in boyfriend). WILL ARNETT plays a TV sports announcer who smokes and drinks on the air, and makes various profane and crude comments about a number of people and subjects. He uses strong profanity. ANDREW DALY plays his more straight-laced and traditional broadcasting partner. He uses some profanity. JACKIE EARLE HALEY plays an apparently perpetually stoned fan who's always shirtless. DeRAY DAVIS, PETER CORNELL, JOSH BRAATEN and JAY PHILLIPS play other players on the team. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated comedy. Profanity consists of at least 18 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue (some it explicit) and song lyrics are present, as is the view of a sexual encounter (woman on top, no nudity, but movement and sounds, while her husband or boyfriend watches and masturbates). Various views of scantly clad women occur, as does a photo of a completely nude man with just a basketball covering his crotch. Comedy based violence includes a big brawl (with punches and other contact), a person accidentally being shot in the arm, a man fighting a bear, a man being knocked out, and other lesser contact. Some of that and other behavior might be enticing for some kids to imitate, while various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (all intended as comedy). Characters smoke and/or drink, and some drug references are made, while some blood and crude humor are also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that at a basketball game as well as later at a club. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Lou nearly always has a drink in front of him while doing TV broadcasts of the games (many scenes). Jackie talks about drinking beer and that a beer manufacturer is a sponsor of a contest, but he lies about that. When a comment is made about Dukes being a homegrown product (of Flint), Jackie jokes about Dukes being on something homegrown (presumably referring to pot). Later, there's talk of Dukes being hopped up on goofballs and grass. Jackie and others have drinks. Various owners at a league meeting have drinks. Lynn's husband or boyfriend has a beer. There's talk of Ed always being drunk, with Jackie saying that even he was intoxicated in one game. The guys play poker and have beer in front of them. Players and others drink in a club. Ed has beer. Ed finds Jackie lying in trash in a dumpster, intoxicated. Jackie then starts to eat a pancake he finds there. Players have beer, wine and drinks. Miscellaneous people have beer. Lou comments on not bringing enough scotch to handle the team getting beaten as badly as they are in a game. BLOOD/GORE Jackie tells other owners at a league meeting that they can "eat sh*t," adding "a big bag of sh*t." He also threatens to come across the table and tear one "a new asshole." A handgun accidentally fires and we then see that it struck a man's cast around his arm, with a little blood coming from that (played for comedy). After Ed comments about the team practicing so hard all of them will "puke," the camera pans across the team doing just that in the bathroom. That is, except for Jackie who says he never has, not even as a child. Ed then says he'll punch Jackie in a certain place to induce that, so he does. We then hear intestinal sounds, and then that of him vomiting onto Ed's face (but we don't see that act in full). Jackie has a few bloody scrapes on his face and chest from a previous bear attack. About how things have turned out, Jackie says, "I wish I could just puke this all away." Ed finds Jackie lying in trash in a dumpster, intoxicated. Jackie then states that he's urinating on himself (not seen). Mispronouncing the word, Jackie refers to the "Anals" rather than "Annals" of history. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE All of the following is played for intended comedy. Jackie introduces members of his own team over the PA system, stating that one's brother is a "retard" (with Lou chiming in that the brother is "retarded" three ways). Some viewers might not like the portrayal of a league referee being a priest who uses the "f" word while officiating. Upset that a season ticket holder brought his own food to a game, Jackie throws the cheese sauce aside and kicks the basket of chips away. Jackie lies about a beer manufacturer as a sponsor of a contest and thus can't pay Dukes when he makes a contest shot with a basketball (he initially tries paying him with the fake, large check seen at the game). Jackie tells other owners at a league meeting that they can "eat sh*t," adding "a big bag of sh*t." He also threatens to come across the table and tear one "a new asshole." Unhappy to see Ed's arrival, Twiggy says it's been about 12 weeks since he "porked" Ed's mom and sister, with Jackie trying to keep the peace by saying that there will be no talk of "porking." After hearing that the only English Vakidis can speak is the answer "yes," Ed asks him if he gave another guy a "hand job." Not understanding what he asked, Vakidis says, "Yes." Clarence has a bad attitude toward Ed. Upset at a call, Jackie tells the referee, "Suck my c*ck" and then kicks the basketball off into the stands. To get back at Jackie, a priest moonlighting as a referee tells him that maybe Jackie's mom didn't get into Heaven. An opposing player has a bad attitude toward Ed, prompting the latter to punch the former, resulting in a big fight among many players. We hear that Ed cheated on Lynn in the past with two girls (at the same time). To try to keep his own team from scoring (and thus setting into motion his promise of a free corn dog for everyone in attendance if a certain score is reached), Jackie tackles Vakidis to try to stop him. Ed proposes to Lynn and they then end up having sex (meaning she's cheating on Kyle, her husband or live-in boyfriend). Jackie admits that he stole his hit song from his mother on her deathbed. After the team wins, bottles are thrown against a wall to celebrate, while a car is overturned. FRIGHTENING SCENES Lou is mad when one player calls him a "jive turkey," and then pulls a handgun on him (but that all turns out to be one big joke as he says the gun is empty). They and others then take turns playing with the gun, including pulling the trigger while goofing around. Jackie then does the same and the gun accidentally fires for real, with the bullet ricocheting around the room. They then see that it struck a man's cast around his arm, with a little blood coming from that (played for comedy). As a publicity stunt, Jackie agrees to wrestle a bar in a closed cage. He's nervous about doing so, but then gets braver as he smacks and hits the bear repeatedly. The bear then attacks Jackie and knocks his assistant aside before escaping, causing those in the crowd to panic. From that point on, we occasionally see a quick view of the bear hitting and knocking people down (one at a time, per scene, all played for comedy). GUNS/WEAPONS Lou is mad when one player calls him a "jive turkey," and then pulls a handgun on him (but that all turns out to be one big joke as he says the gun is empty). They and others then take turns playing with the gun, including pulling the trigger while goofing around. Jackie then does the same and the gun accidentally fires for real, with the bullet ricocheting around the room. They then see that it struck a man's cast around his arm, with a little blood coming from that (played for comedy). An old Howitzer type cannon is prepped at a basketball game and then used to shoot out confetti. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck off," "F*ck it," "Who the f*ck is Bambi?" "F*ck you," "What the f*ck is this?" "You m*therf*cking c*cks*cker," "F*ck that sh*t," "Whole f*cked up life," "Holy sh*t," "The sh*t is messed up," "Everyone can eat sh*t," "That's bullsh*t," "Horse-sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "I don't give a sh*t," "You ain't won sh*t," "Well, tough sh*t," "You suck c*ck," "You little c*cks*cker," "Suck my c*ck," "He's being a real d*ck," "Let's go get some p*ssy," "You p*ssy," "His brother's a retard," "Chick," "Whatever the hell I want," "Holy crap," "What's shaking?" "Don't be a jackass," "Tear you a new asshole," "We suck," "No way in hell," "Hell no," "Jive turkey," "You son of a bitch," "Why don't you just shut up?" "Holy balls," "Honeys," "G*ddamn, what the hell is wrong with you?" "What the hell /is that/are you talking about/are you doing?" "Balls" and "Nuts" (testicles), "G*ddman, this guy's a bummer," "You're pissing your career away," "You old dog," "I'm freaking out," "I wish I could just puke this all away," "G*ddamn son of a bitch," "Damn right," "Anals of history," "Are you out of your mind?" and "Let's get tropical." Jackie's goofy, man-child type behavior, as well as that of others in the film, might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Lou is mad when one player calls him a "jive turkey," and then pulls a handgun on him (but that all turns out to be one big joke as he says the gun is empty). They and others then take turns playing with the gun, including pulling the trigger while goofing around. Jackie then does the same and the gun accidentally fires for real, with the bullet ricocheting around the room. They then see that it struck a man's cast around his arm, with a little blood coming from that (played for comedy). To try to distract the other team, Jackie's squad wears heavy eyeliner. When that then runs down their faces, Jackie reacts in pain and says that it feels like he has "cat piss" in his eyes. The camera pans across various cheerleaders lying on the floor with their legs spread in bikinis, all in a row for Jackie to jump over them as a stunt. He goes down a ramp on roller skates and clears all but the last one that he lands on. After the team wins, bottles are thrown against a wall to celebrate, while a car is overturned. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) We hear sexually related lyrics as Jackie sings his hit song, "Love Me Sexy." They include that line as well as "lick me sexy" and "we're naked...we're humping sexy." A song has the lyric, "Get the funk out of my face" (played to sound like the "f" word). A song with sultry sounding lyrics (nothing explicit) plays during a sex scene. PROFANITY At least 18 "f" words (1 used with "mother," while one is used sexually as are terms such as "porked," "porking," "laid" and "doing"), 25 "s" words, 13 slang terms using male genitals ("c*ck," "c*cks*cker," "d*ck," "wiener" and "boner"), 4 using female ones ("p*ssy"), 3 for breasts ("boobs," "boobies" and "cannons"), 15 hells, 5 asses (3 used with "hole"), 3 damns, 2 S.O.B.s, 1 crap, 7 uses of "G-damn," 2 of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "Good Lord" and "My God." SEX/NUDITY All of the following is played for intended comedy. We hear sexually related lyrics as Jackie sings his hit song, "Love Me Sexy." They include that line as well as "lick me sexy" and "we're naked...we're humping sexy." We see an album cover featuring a woman's spread legs (we only see legs) with Jackie down below them (as if she's hanging above him) and then a photo featuring a completely nude Jackie reclining on one side with just a basketball covering his crotch area. At various times in the film, we see the team's cheerleading squad, and those young and shapely women are seen in all sorts of revealing attire, including small bikinis and such (that show cleavage and other skin). Jackie introduces members of his own team over the PA system, including one who he says doesn't have VD, and thus a woman could be the first to give him that. Lou then comments that no "chick" wants to be with a guy who's hung like a twig, with Dick replying that women do like men with small penises. Lou asks what woman does, and Dick replies his own wife. Jackie then introduces another player and comments on his wife or girlfriend's breasts, as does Lou, with terms such as "cannons," "boobs" and "boobies" being used. Dukes is always seen shirtless. Jackie tells the crowd he wants to make sweet, slow, tender and hot love to each one of them. Unhappy to see Ed's arrival, Twiggy says it's been about 12 weeks since he "porked" Ed's mom and sister, with Jackie trying to keep the peace by saying that there will be no talk of "porking." Equating it to something else, Lou says that watching a porn movie doesn't mean you "get laid," with Dick replying no, it's usually the opposite. About the Swedes, one guy says that they make an excellent "f*cking picture," with various comments then made about masturbation, wieners and boners. Some comments are made about the term "c*cks*cker" and "you suck c*ck." After hearing that the only English Vakidis can speak is the answer "yes," Ed asks him if he gave another guy a "hand job." Not understanding what he asked, Vakidis says, "Yes." Upset at a call, Jackie tells the referee, "Suck my c*ck" and then kicks the basketball off into the stands. We hear that Ed cheated on Lynn in the past with two girls (at the same time). Seeing Ed and Lynn in the locker room (nothing sexual is happening), one player sarcastically asks if he's "doing" his girl in the locker room, adding that it's classy. Taking over as the coach, Ed says that winning isn't about getting their "d*ck" sucked after the game, but Jackie and others then comment on "blow jobs." While doing the TV broadcast, Lou comments on the dancing cheerleaders having such big, bouncy and jiggly hearts (obviously looking at their scantly covered butts and/or breasts), and Dick calls him on that. Ed proposes to Lynn and they then end up having sex (meaning she's cheating on Kyle, her husband or live-in boyfriend). Kyle then returns home and finds them fooling around on the sofa, looks surprised, but then excitedly sits down to watch. Lynn is having sex on top of Ed (no nudity, but movement and sounds), and Kyle is apparently masturbating under the table to what he's watching. When Lynn and Ed realize Kyle's there, they stop and scramble to get up, with Ed grabbing a framed photo of Kyle that he holds over his crotch area. The camera pans across various cheerleaders lying on the floor with their legs spread in bikinis, all in a row for Jackie to jump over them as a stunt. He goes down a ramp on roller skates and clears all but the last one that he lands on. Jackie tells Dick, "Let's go get some p*ssy." Dick says he can't, but Jackie implores him, so Dick says, "I guess we'll get some p*ssy." Jackie admits that he thought he would have slept with some of the cheerleaders (nicknamed "ball girls"), but then laments procrastinating about that. While unconscious (played for comedy), Jackie sees his dead mother who shows some cleavage. About witnessing the ally oop play for the first time, Lou comments on getting an erection from that. As Jackie prepares to shoot a free throw, we see the camera shot from down on the floor below his spread legs (we see the crotch area of his short shorts, but don't see anything explicit). SMOKING Lou smokes at least 5 times, while some miscellaneous smoking is briefly seen. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Jackie's mom is dead from sometime in the past. To get back at Jackie, a priest moonlighting as a referee tells him that maybe Jackie's mom didn't get into Heaven. We hear that Ed cheated on Lynn in the past with two girls (at the same time). While unconscious (played for comedy), Jackie sees his dead mother and he apologizes for earlier stealing her song and making it his. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Semi-professional sports teams. People with man-child type personalities (prone to child-like tantrums, etc.). The real life story of the American Basketball Association. VIOLENCE All of the following is played for intended comedy. Upset that a season ticket holder brought his own food to a game, Jackie throws the cheese sauce aside and kicks the basket of chips away. Mad at news about the league and his team, Jackie slams a chair into a table several times, while he also bites his own hand. Jackie twice smacks one of his players across the face. A handgun accidentally fires and we then see that it struck a man's cast around his arm, with a little blood coming from that (played for comedy). An opposing player has a bad attitude toward Ed, prompting the latter to punch the former. They and the rest of their teammates then wait until a TV time-out before participating in a general melee with comedy-based punching, kicking and other such contact and struggling. Once out of the time-out, most of them stop, except for Jackie who hits one with a shoe, Ed who elbows one in the back, and Lou who hits another with a telephone. Mad at how things have turned out, Ed kicks a car window, shattering it (but it's that of a police car and he's arrested). To try to keep his own team from scoring (and thus setting into motion his promise of a free corn dog for everyone in attendance if a certain score is reached), Jackie tackles Vakidis to try to stop him. The camera pans across various cheerleaders lying on the floor with their legs spread in bikinis, all in a row for Jackie to jump over them as a stunt. He goes down a ramp on roller skates and clears all but the last one that he lands on. As a publicity stunt, Jackie agrees to wrestle a bar in a closed cage. He's nervous about doing so, but then gets braver as he smacks and hits the bear repeatedly. The bear then attacks Jackie and knocks his assistant aside before escaping, causing those in the crowd to panic. From that point on, we occasionally see a quick view of the bear hitting and knocking people down (one at a time, per scene, all played for comedy). In a game, Jackie is knocked hard to the floor and ends up unconscious (but this is all played for comedy). After the team wins, bottles are thrown against a wall to celebrate, while a car is overturned. Reviewed February 14, 2008 / Posted February 29, 2008

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