basketball Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Some people might say that Will Ferrell is coasting, taking it easy, or skirting by on proven formula -- and that may be the case. There's a lot in Ferrell's latest flick, Semi-Pro, that feels like material left over from the comedian's soccer comedy (Kicking & Screaming), his car-racing comedy (Talladega Nights), and his figure-skating comedy (Blades of Glory) -- but it's really tough to complain when a comedian doles out "the same old schtick" when that same old schtick is still pretty damn funny. A recent interview with Entertainment Weekly indicates that Ferrell is pretty much finished with sports comedies, and that's probably just as well. Oh, and for the record: I happen to think Semi-Pro is Ferrell's best sports flick yet -- and probably his most consistently amusing movie since Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Semi-Pro marks the popular comedian's first foray into R-rated comedy, at least as far as his "leading man" status goes. So while much of the flick's broad, silly, and slyly absurd humor bounces across the screen, it will all feel very (perhaps comfortably) familiar to Ferrell's loyal fans -- but I'm not ashamed to admit that the inclusion of several F-bombs help to make the flick a whole lot funnier. We don't often get to hear Will Ferrell tell someone to "S his C," but the golden-'froed goofball dives into the potty-mouth material with a lot of enthusiasm. Semi-Pro is not an aggressively raunchy comedy, but it's definitely NOT for the 10-year-old Ferrell fans out there. (Sorry, kids. Go watch Elf again. It's hilarious.)

Just a few weeks ago, Sir Christopher Campbell of Cinematical pointed you towards a new trailer for Will Ferrell's latest comedy. But if you were wondering if Semi-Pro was going to be the soft & cuddly Will Ferrell or the bizarrely potty-mouthed Will Ferrell, you now have your answer. Suffice to say that when it arrives in late February, Semi-Pro will most definitely be rated R.

If you're willing to share your full name, birthday and zip code, then you'll be allowed to enjoy this brand-new (and highly "red-band") trailer in which lots of funny people say lots of very profane things. And it's good news, says me. Despite the fact that Mr. Ferrell has appeared in more sports movies than Kevin Costner, the flick I was reminded of while watching this trailer was George Roy Hill's Slap Shot. And obviously that's a good thing.

Directed by first-timer Kent Alterman and written by frequent Todd Phillips collaborator Scot Armstrong (Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch), Semi-Pro has a comedic ensemble that's definitely worth sharing: Woody Harrelson (back doing the silly stuff!), Will Arnett (a brilliantly funny guy still looking for a good movie), Maura Tierney (funny and sexy!), Andy Richter, Andre Benjamin, Tim Meadows, David Koechner, Rob Corddry ... Jackie Earle Haley?

OK, aside from the final gag about the gun, I haven't been this psyched for a Will Ferrell flick in a long time.

Frankly it doesn't matter a double-dribble whether or not the new film Believe in Me is based on a true story; the formula is exactly the same either way. A radical new coach descends upon a repressed, conservative small town, reluctantly takes on a ragtag team of losers, and whips them into shape just in time to win the state championship, all the while dealing with personal issues and maybe a stock bad guy, a sourpuss who for whatever reason can't wait to see the team lose.

Believe in Me is not much different from Miracle, Glory Road, Coach Carter, Gridiron Gang, We Are Marshall (and probably the new Pride, which I haven't seen yet) and other recent inspirational sports dramas. In fact, I'd suggest that the gruff-but-caring coach is for the current decade what drill instructors were for the 1980s. These movies take their inspiration seriously, and present their true, formulaic stories with a kind of impenetrable bombast and without much wiggle room; the packaging suggests that, if you criticize this movie, you're really criticizing the real heroes behind the story. What Believe in Me does differently is that it keeps a low profile.

There has be another addition to the ever-expanding cast of the Will Ferrell basketball comedy Semi-Pro. Variety reports that Maura Tierney (ER) has now signed on to play a love interest for Woody Harrelson. There have been plenty of casting announcements for the film; some of which haven't met with the most enthusiastic response, but New Line has yet to confirm a release date. I would hope that the addition of Tierney is the last piece of the puzzle.

Kent Alterman is directing the Scot Armstrong script about a struggling basketball team with Ferrel as their owner/coach. Already included in the cast are André Benjamin, Jay Phillips and Daily Show alum Rob Corddry. Tierney was last seen at Sundance in the ensemble drama The Go-Getter, which judging by James' review wasn't bound for a wide release any time soon. This seems like it might be another in a line of "the girl" parts for Tierney, who has played them before with grace despite some not-so-hot scripts in the Ray Romano comedy Welcome To Mooseport and Forces of Nature. Luckily, she was a pretty good straight man on the TV comedy News Radio, so she might be a welcome relief from the guaranteed absurdity of Ferrell and Arnett's performances.

I guess it's not just about the musicians when it comes to the slew of biopics on the way. In the last few months, we've had word of biographies of Ernie Davis and Jesse Owens, and now Production Weekly has announced that a new film about basketball legend Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton is going into production. Although to be fair, you can't accuse writer-director Martin Guigui of jumping on a bandwagon, as he has been working on Sweetwater for almost a decade.

Clifton began his career with The New York Rens before joining the Harlem Globetrotters in 1947; by 1950 he had joined the New York Knicks. Clifton was known for exceptional ball-handling skills (which might have something to do with the fact that Clifton sported size 14 hands). At the age of 27, Clifton was the first African-American to sign a contract with the NBA. By the end of his first season he had helped take the team to its first shot at the finals.

This isn't the only project Guigui has on the way, his other film Benny Bliss and the Disciples of Greatness (2007) is a comedic story about an evangelical musician on a mission to rid the world of electronic gadgets -- which I hope for the sake of Clifton's memory, is better than it sounds. Sweetwater is set to start production this February.

[via Dark Horizons]

Since no official announcement has been made, we're going to chuck this one into the rumor pile. According to a story in The Pioneer Press, Will Ferrell will begin filming a movie in February that revolves around the American Basketball Association. Say what? Basketball? Will Ferrell?

If the rumor turns out to be true, this would mark Ferrell's fourth sports-related comedy, after previously starring in Kicking and Screaming, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and the upcoming Blades of Glory. Now, I have no idea where this information is coming from -- nothing on IMDB or in the trades -- though, perhaps, this is the third film in Ferrell and Adam Mckay's every man trilogy (Anchorman, Talladega Nights)? Seeing as the two men recently signed a two-year, first-look deal with Paramount Vantage, it all seems to fit together quite nicely. Stay tuned for more information as it's dished out.

[via Rope of Silicon]

Depending on how you feel about sports, you may not have heard about a high school senior named Jason McElwain. He's the two-year manager of Greece, New York's Grace Athena High School basketball team, and is autistic. Last week, as a way of thanking him for his commitment to the team, the coach let Jason be in uniform for senior day. When Grace Athena found itself with a big lead in the fourth quarter, he put Jason into the first game of his career. The kid responded by scoring 20 points - including six threes - in four minutes, while his teammates and the crowd went completely insane.

Needless to say, the story - one in which everyone comes across as impossibly good-natured and down to earth - was quickly picked up by news outlets all over the country, and it was only a matter of time before Hollywood came calling. And call they did: Jason's parents have reportedly heard from more than two dozen production companies, including Disney and Warner Brothers, as well as independent producers and documentarians. Eventually, the movie is bound to be made - this is one of those stories that's so great you really couldn't make it up. Plus, it's not a remake! No wonder studios are swarming.

Glory Road is such a formulaic and forgettable sports movie that I keep forgetting it was about the Texas Western College basketball championship season of 1966 and not about the University of Texas football championship season of 2005. Admittedly the screening I attended took place the day before the big football game, and the orange that the Texas Western team wore was strikingly similar in shade to UT's burnt orange. And they were both big upsets.

However, the Texas Western upset was considered notable in sports history because the college was the first to start five black basketball players on the court at once. As the movie tells us, NCAA teams at the time would never have more than one or two black players on the court; the Kentucky Wildcats team that Texas Western played in the tournament had no black players at all.

Even if you know very little about basketball, you know how Glory Road will end. For one thing, Disney has been advertising this movie as an inspiring story about an underdog team that wins the NCAA tournament title. The movie is structured so that the winning game is the climactic scene of the movie, even though we have been told the result. This is not a spoiler unless you've been living in a cave.