5/22/08

Bob's Big Screen

No class or classic…your choice

by Bob Connally

Upcoming releases include a new basketball comedy from superstar Will Ferrell and a new boxed set of films starring cinema legend Clint Eastwood. Since these films involve basketballs and guns I could say something about whether these releases are worth a shot or not, but I think… Actually, that’s good. Very good.

Find out if these are worth a shot or not. You see, ‘cause you can shoot a basketball…or a gun. Oh, come on. Puns don’t kill people. People kill people.

Semi-Pro

(R, Avail. 6/3)

Apparently trying to take on every sport in the known universe, Will Ferrell has starred in a funny NASCAR film (“Talladega Nights”), an even better figure skating movie (silly comedies don't get much better than "Blades of Glory"), and a soccer dud (“Kicking and Screaming”).

The fourth film in Ferrell's sports anthology, the basketball comedy "Semi-Pro" is another dud and most likely his weakest movie to date.

Telling the story of Jackie Moon (Ferrell), "Semi-Pro" is set in the 1970s during the final year of the ABA as it is dissolved into the NBA. The NBA is only going to take on four teams from the dying league, and thanks to Jackie's outburst at the owner's meeting (he's the team's owner-player-coach, which is one of the few funny elements in the film), it is decided that the NBA will take on the four teams with the best records and the best attendance.

The problem with this plan is that his team, the Flint Tropics, have the worst record in the league and while their fans are loyal, the number remains small. In an attempt to improve their chances, Jackie trades the team's washing machine for veteran player Ed Monix (Woody Harrelson), while beginning a series of radical promotions which include Free Corn Dog Night and Jackie wrestling a bear after a game. Apparently promotions of this nature were common in the ABA.

“Semi-Pro” follows the standard sports movie formula steadily. A lousy team pulls together to become a good one. This is not the movie’s problem. After all, “Dodgeball” followed this formula and it's one of the funniest films of this decade. The problem is that the comedy falls flat. Throughout it's obvious where the jokes are but they just aren't funny. When the sight of Will Ferrell wrestling a bear can barely elicit a pity smile it's a sign that something has gone terribly wrong. Let me say that again. Will Ferrell. Wrestles a bear. And it’s not funny.

“Semi-Pro” is also incredibly vulgar. While the vulgarity of "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" was funny because it came from a believable place and characters with heart, here it just seems to be purely for the sake of vulgarity. What Ferrell, writer Scot Armstrong, and director Kent Alterman fail to understand is that crudeness for the sake of crudeness does not equal comedy.

As the film's straight man, Harrelson gives a good performance. He seems to be in a different movie from everyone else, and it’s clearly a better one.

"Semi-Pro" is not irretrievably awful, but it's certainly not worth your time. Just because a comedy is dumb doesn't mean it shouldn't be funny. Ferrell knows that. Hopefully when he makes films about squash and the two-man luge he'll remember it. 4/10.

“Dirty Harry” Ultimate Collector’s Edition

(Avail. 6/3)

All five “Dirty Harry” films are coming in a seven-disc collector’s edition boxed set and for the first time they will be available on high definition Blu-Ray disc.

1971’s “Dirty Harry” features the iconic Clint Eastwood in his most iconic role. Harry Callahan is a San Francisco cop whose one and only friend is his .44 Magnum, which at the time of the film’s release was evidently, “the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off.”  I honestly don’t know if that was true or not but who am I to argue?

The first film is about Harry’s pursuit of a cryptic sniper who calls himself Scorpio. Don Siegel’s film was based largely on the ongoing search for the Zodiac killer who was terrorizing Californians at the time. The sequels are 1973’s “Magnum Force,” 1976’s “The Enforcer,” 1983’s “Sudden Impact” (which Eastwood directed), and 1988’s “The Dead Pool.”

Warner Brothers has previously released all five on DVD so to entice the consumer this time they’ve added new special features including the feature length documentary, “Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows.”  It will also include a hardcover book, a wallet with a metal badge, lobby cards, and all manner of assorted little knick-knacks. This is designed and priced for only the hardest of hardcore “Harry” fans, so if you only want the movies themselves you’ll be better off just buying the existing DVD editions.

The original “Dirty Harry” remains one of the best and most important cop films of all-time. It truly is a classic and one of the most entertaining movies of the 1970s. I could end this by saying something like, “Do you feel lucky, punk?” or “Go ahead make my day,” but I won’t, because come on, that would just be so obvious. So at least give “Dirty Harry” a rent if you’ve never seen it. It’ll make your day, punk, really it will.

Also coming to DVD:

5/27

Rambo (R)

Cassandra’s Dream (R)

Thief of Bagdad- Criterion Collection

6/3

Weeds: Season 3

Rescue Me: Season 4

Flawless (PG-13)

Meet the Spartans (PG-13)

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