Ill-Informed Gadfly

I’ve seen episodes of “Two and a Half Men” with more complex and elegant plots than “Semi-Pro,” the new Will Ferrell comedy. Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, a one-hit-wonder 70s pop singer who’s the owner, coach and starting power forward of an American Basketball Association franchise, the Tropics of Flint, Michigan. It’s a premise in search of a story. “Semi-Pro” clocks in at less than 90 minutes and still has to pad out that time with sports-movie clichés and weirdly earnest storylines for supporting players Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin and Maura Tierney. Given these glaring flaws, I’m baffled but nonetheless pleased to report that “Semi-Pro” is very, very funny. The moviemaking is uneven but not lazy: Director Kent Ackerman has a good eye and ear for the details that galvanize throwaway gags. And he gives Ferrell plenty of room to riff. Yes, we’ve seen this Ferrell before, with the thousand-yard stare and the goofy intensity and the steadfast refusal to acknowledge how ridiculous he looks. But those who trash him for playing the same role over and over don’t appreciate how difficult it is to create an enduring screen persona. He knows his strengths and molds the material to suit them, and his commitment never wavers: He believes in what he’s doing. The bit players tune into Ferrell’s silly frequency. Andrew Daly has a potentially starmaking role as the Tropics’ relentlessly cheerful play-by-play man. “Semi-Pro” may be junky, but if comedies are measured by laughs, it runs up the score.

LISTEN: Semi-Pro