Classic Movie Review Semi Tough

Semi Tough (1977) 

Directed by Michael Ritchie 

Written by Walter Bernstein, Ring Lardner 

Starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh 

Release Date November 18th, 1977 

Published February 7th, 2023 

The classic on the latest edition of the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast was inspired by the release of the sort-of Football movie 80 for Brady. 1977's Semi Tough from director Michael Ritchie is also a sort-of Football movie. The film features football, it's about football players but Football is very much not what interest's director Michael Ritchie. Rather, Football is a vague vehicle to be used to create a colorful setting for three colorful characters. 

Semi Tough stars Burt Reynolds as Billy Clyde Puckett, a running back for the Miami Football team. It was 1977 and licensing actual football team names was not something that movie studios were particularly interested in doing. Billy Clyde is lucky to play alongside one of his two best friends, Wide Receiver Marvin 'Shake' Miller. Both Billy Clyde and Shake live with their other childhood best friend, Barbara Jane 'B.J' Bookman. She's also the daughter of the owner of the Miami Football team, played by Hollywood legend Robert 'The Music Man' Preston. 

The plot, what plot there is of it, kicks in when B.J begins to have romantic feelings for Shake. This upends the friendly dynamic of the trio as Billy Clyde grows more and more jealous of his two friends. All the while, Miami is winning their way through the playoffs and on to the Super Bowl. And the movie could truly not care less about the football aspect. As I mentioned, Football is the culture in which these characters exist and Semi Tough is far more of a character piece than anything remotely like a sports movie. 

The biggest element of Semi Tough is a lengthy riff on self-help movements. If you're under the age of 30 you likely aren't aware of this but, your parents and grandparents who came of age in the 1970s briefly became obsessed with kooky self-help movements. EST for instance, the EST Movement, was a seminar in which a former Encyclopedia salesman berated people for endless hours over several days until people had emotional breakthroughs. That those breakthroughs came through the sheer force of inertia from being trapped in a hotel conference room for days while a salesman called you names was something we're not supposed to call attention to. 

In Semi Tough, EST becomes BEAT, a very direct riff on EST, right down to Bert Convy's sleazy guru opening the meetings by calling his new students A##holes. From there, he tells them that if they have a problem, it's entirely their fault, they choose to have these problems and can choose not to have these problems. This nonsense apparently worked on Shakes who came out of his visit to BEAT a complete convert, a true believer. It does not work on B.J who finds the whole experience exhausting. This leads to a conflict between Shakes and B.J that may end their marriage plans. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review: Without a Paddle

Without a Paddle (2004) 

Directed by Steven Brill 

Written by Jay Leggett, Mitch Rouse 

Starring Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard, Ethan Suplee, Burt Reynolds 

Release Date August 20th, 2004

Published August 19th, 2004 

Despite what many screenwriters will tell you, writing a screenplay is not that hard. Not hard at all if you're not interested in writing a good script. Simply follow the formula used by the writers of Without A Paddle: take three successful films, say City Slickers, Road Trip, and Deliverance, extract the most basic elements from each, and combine them into your movie. Be sure to read Screenplay Writing for Dummies to fill out your screenplay into the proper salable length and you’re done.

Without A Paddle stars Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard, and Seth Green as three childhood buddies confronting life as adults after a friend’s death. Lillard is Jerry, a computer programmer who hates his job and can't decide whether or not to settle down with his girlfriend; for you screenwriters looking for character development shorthand, Jerry is a surfer with all of the stereotypical attributes of a surfer to fill out his character. That saves you having to write him witty dialogue or anything that might resemble an interesting character; he is a placeholder for a stereotype.

Dax Shepard is Tom, a part-time criminal, gambler, and full time ladies man. Again, a little screenwriter shorthand, the writers here use other characters’ conversations to establish Tom's colorful background (prison stays, casino trips, orgies). This is helpful because now you don't have to write the character anything interesting to do, simply tell the audience he is wacky and you’re done. Tom is a placeholder for a backstory far more interesting than the character that is written.

Finally, there is Seth Green as Dan, a doctor ,and by far the most successful of the three friends. Now, screenwriters, pay attention to the Dan character because he is an example of a modern comic rule that states that any comedy with more than one male lead must have one of those male leads be super-neurotic. Establish various fears and phobias and then add the nerd accouterments, asthma inhaler, pocket protector, bad glasses and a general fear of women. Again, you save yourself having to write an interesting, funny character.

The plot finds our intrepid trio paying tribute to their dead buddy by taking the canoe trip they had always dreamed of. The trip is special because it involves searching for the lost loot of D. B Cooper, the urban legend who robbed passengers on an airplane and leaped from the plane at an altitude that could only have killed him. It is an intriguing legend -- neither his body nor his loot have never been found -- that has inspired more than one film. If only it had inspired a better film than this.

From there, the boys head for the backwoods of Oregon where they quickly lose their way while fighting off a bear, a crooked sheriff and a pair of redneck dope dealers played by Abe Benrubi and Ethan Suplee. Both Suplee and Benrubi have seen better days. Also on the trip the guys commune with a pair of nutty environmentalist chicks and a backwoodsman played by Burt Reynolds who may hold the key to the Cooper legend.

One rather unique problem in Without A Paddle is one I mentioned briefly earlier in this review and that is the back stories given to key characters. Both the dead friend Billy and Dax Shepard's Tom have back stories that are way more interesting than the story we are forced to watch. Billy has climbed Everest, dated supermodels, and rafted the most difficult rapids in the world. Tom has been in and out of prison with all sorts of oddball encounters with criminals, scam artists, and beautiful woman. We see almost none of that and instead are treated to a very mundane road movie.

Mundane is a rather kind description for a film made by guys who think it's funny to have Burt Reynolds in their movie. Not that they have written anything funny for Mr. Reynolds, they just think that Burt Reynolds is funny. Is it kitsch? Is it ironic in some way? I have no idea and I doubt that poor Mr. Reynolds knows either, or cares as long as the check clears. Reynolds long ago surrendered his likeness to parody and now only acts for the dollars.

We should not be surprised that such a hack movie would be Directed by Steven "Adam Sandler's bitch" Brill. Brill was lenser on both Mr. Deeds and Little Nicky as well as the wretched Disney kids flick Heavyweights with Ben Stiller. Brill may have actually written the book Screenplay Writing for Dummies, he wrote Little Nicky as well as the wrestling comedy (tragedy?) Ready To Rumble and two Mighty Ducks movies. To his defense, however, he is not credited on Without A Paddle; that dubious honor goes to TV veterans Mitch Rouse and Jay Leggett.

The three leads Lillard, Shepard, and Green don't do themselves any favors but they don't embarrass themselves. Lillard, to his credit, is becoming less and less abrasive and off-putting with each role. Green will always have a place as a second or third banana and he will always have endless goodwill for his voicework on TV's Family Guy. As for Shepard, the former Punk'd star, he has a little charm. I like how he bites into a punchline but he never had a chance with this poorly written role. Based on this it's difficult to pass any kind of judgment on Dax Shepard.

I must admit that I laughed during Without A Paddle more than once. However it was mostly a reflex action from remembering funnier jokes from Road Trip or City Slickers and one quick reference that a character makes to Ned Beatty's moment of truth in Deliverance. This film is a perfect example of the kind of assembly line comedy that Hollywood executives excel at making. It's relatively inoffensive, not entirely inept but utterly unmemorable comedy that you will forget as soon as the credits roll.

Movie Review The Last Movie Star

The Last Move Star (2018) 

Directed by Adam Rifkin

Written by Adam Rifkin 

Starring Burt Reynolds, Ariel Winter, Clark Duke, Ellar Coltrane, Chevy Chase 

Release Date March 30th, 2018 

Published March 29th, 2018 

The Last Movie Star turns a bold and daring eye on an aging Burt Reynolds and never looks away. Writer-Director Adam Rifkin has crafted a tribute to the movie star Burt Reynolds and a deconstruction of the actor and person Burt Reynolds. It’s a strange and fascinating piece that is equal parts funny, emotional and sit-comic. Reynolds is rather incredible throughout even as the direction lets him down here and there.

Vic Edwards (Reynolds) was once the biggest movie star in the world. That was a long time ago. Today, Vic is a lonely has-been in a large house whose dog just died. No, lie the opening scenes of the movie with Vic having to put his elderly pooch down at a vet’s office legit broke my heart as a dog lover, not to mention just feeling sorry for this old man we’re just meeting and will come to know.

Vic gets invited to a film festival in Nashville, Tennessee where he will be honored with a lifetime achievement award. His buddy, played by Chevy Chase, seemingly playing his creepy self, encourages him to accept the invitation, he’s heard that Eastwood, Pacino and DeNiro have all been honored at this festival in the past. The promise of an all-expense paid trip and the fact that Vic is originally from Tennessee convince him to accept.

Upon arrival however, Vic finds the festival may not be as prestigious as promised. After a painful coach plane ride, Vic is met at the airport by Lil (Modern Family star Ariel Winter), who is loudly arguing with her terrible boyfriend and driving what can kindly be considered a car, Vic was expecting a limousine. Finally, Vic arrives at the festival, hosted by Lil’s brother Doug (Clark Duke) in the back of a bar.

Desperately unhappy, Vic proceeds to get drunk and the next day forces Lil to take him back to his hometown in Knoxville rather than return to the festival. From there, Vic will reminisce and regret, ruminate and accept where his life is now. It’s quite a journey filled with some surprisingly big laughs from both Reynolds and Winter. But. The Last Movie Star has something more than just some TV sitcom ready punchlines in store 

It is perhaps more than a little manipulative to have the aged Burt Reynolds acting out portions of his own life story through the character of Vic but damned if I wasn’t moved by it. Portions of the film are even told using Reynolds’ real life movies as those of his characters. A pair of dreams find the Reynolds of today chatting with Bandit Burt and Deliverance Burt. These scenes are admittedly maudlin but Reynolds gives them real weight.

Later dramatic scenes in which Vic is reflecting on his childhood, his marriages and his career are equally moving and while the direction isn’t spectacular and the set ups are obvious and forced, Reynolds is so good that I could not help but get sucked in. The final moment of the film is by far Reynolds crowning jewel as an actor and as Burt Reynolds the movie star. Watch his eyes, watch that smile; it’s really something to see.

I have mixed feelings about The Last Movie Star but not about Reynolds. Despite the pushy, borderline amateurish direction, he is magnetic and deeply sympathetic. That’s not something I have ever thought of Burt Reynolds, sympathetic. He’s always been that Bugs Bunny like character to me, the quick-witted charmer with that killer smile, and always one step ahead of the man.

Later in his life he was a sad shell of a movie star, slumming it on TV, glaring from tabloid magazine covers and only occasionally, as in Boogie Nights, flashing the chops that he’d so often hidden behind that façade of a movie star charm. He was perhaps a pathetic figure from that tabloid perspective, the focus on his legendary hairpiece, which gets no call outs here, but never someone I was called to feel sorry for.

Here however, in The Last Movie Star, Burt Reynolds is deeply sympathetic. Downright moving in how sympathetic he is. Genuine vulnerability has come with his aging and withered his charm along with his handsome features but the actor remains. Sure, the movie cheats by using Reynolds’ real life as shorthand but man does Burt lean into that and make it something more than just an ego trip down memory lane.