D-Rating by Robert W. Hammerle

"Semi-Pro" is a disaster by any standard. It is the functional equivalent of a weak stepsister to Will Ferrell's surprisingly entertaining "Talladega Nights" (2006) and "Blades of Glory" (2007).

Simply put, Mr. Ferrell has gone to the cinematic sports well one too many times. He seems as bored as his on screen creation, and there is little joy in his performance. While this misbegotten film admittedly gains a bit of momentum during its last third, that is small comfort given the fact that the beginning of this tragic misfire is insipidly tedious.

As most of you probably know, Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, the player/owner of the Flint Tropics, a fictionalized franchise in the old A.B.A. basketball league. Facing an imminent merger with the N.B.A. that will eliminate his franchise, he recruits an ex-N.B.A. player (Woody Harrelson) in the attempt to breathe life into his inept team.

Harrelson is a genuinely good actor and he attempts to resuscitate a film that is all but dead by his arrival. The only mildly amusing scenes in this catastrophe involved the play-by-play announcers for the team, named Lou Redwood (Will Arnett) and Dick Pepperfield (Andrew Daly). Their bawdy commentary as they drink and smoke their way through each game makes you wish that the film had centered around them.

Ricky Bobby of "Talladega Nights" was a lovable, clueless egotist. You loved him because of his flaws, not in spite of them. Jackie Moon is simply an insufferable bore that thinks he is funny when he is not. You simply want him to fade away quickly, something that will soon happen to this film in most theaters around the country.