I mean how many times can an actor play basically the same character before it becomes
stagnant and repetitive? Well In this basketball comedy Will Ferrell reprises a role of washed-up "Jack-of-All-Trades" athlete/singer
Jackie Moon, Promoter/Owner/Coach/and Power Forward to his A.B.A. team the Tropics. It seems at first glance that this may be
yet another stinker like last years flop Blades Of Glory, but I was delightfully surprised to find that once again Will Ferrell hits the
comedic mark and actually delivered a funny and enjoyable movie, more so reminiscent to the often overlooked Nascar spectacle Talladega Nights:
The ballad of Ricky Bobby.
The basic premise of the film follows your standard sports/comedy template;Set in the funk-filled 70's this Rag-Tag team is given the opportunity to become pro when the A.B.A. merges
with the NBA, needing to up their game they enlist in the help of a champion A.B.A. player whom they traded a washing machine for,(aptly played by Woody Harrelson)
Mayhem ensues in between this and the championship game for all the marbles. Pretty Standard stuff, already boring the shit out of me.
The movie starts out as any other, with character and situation development that moves at a pace that is to the point and filled with many
subtle funny moments; such as Will's trademark oblivious and excessive profanity, and over-the-top wild actions.
Yet it has a refreshing
originality that is made so great by the tremendous power of the supporting cast. Andre Benjamin and Woody Harrelson give the movie
a serious acting boost while still maintaining a fun and entertaining undertone, the game announcers played by the hilarious Will Arnette and
Andrew Daly fill in the sport aspect with perfectly timed banter comedy and cameos from greats such as Tim Meadows, and Andy Richter ice this cake nicely.
Like any movie of course there is the romantic aspect which in my opinion ruins the majority of comedy movies, but this one is well played by
Maura Tierney as Woody Harrelson's love interest, and the corny romantics are broken up beautifully by the comedy genius of Rob Cordry.
The film begins to lose momentum after about an hour like any comedy, but picks up nicely and very quickly to get to the funny and definitely
heartwarming/feel good ending.
All in all I would have to say it was the better of the recent string of Will Ferrell movies, and definitely a comedic gem for anyone looking
for some mindless fun.
4 out of 5
