Les faux-durs

Supposedly based on the book of the same name, the only similarities are the characters' names -- SOME of the characters. Some of the best ones, such as Elroy Blunt, greatest country/western singer ever to warble a tune, were left out completely. The whole thing is a shame, because this was by far the funniest book I ever read. I remember eagerly anticipating the forthcoming movie back in 1977. Then I heard that Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson and Jill Clayburgh were the stars and thought "oh-oh." Still, I went to see the movie -- just awful. Watched it again a couple of years ago with the hope that time might have taken the edge off. Wrong; it was worse than ever. While I respect the "favorable" reviews given by some above, it's obvious that they didn't read the book. I'd invite them to do so, then watch the movie again and see how they'd rate it again.

Advertised as a sexy comedy about pro-football players and their women, this Michael Ritchie film, based on the book by Dan Jenkins, instead takes aim at fads and other eccentricities of the 1970s, using the sports world as a backdrop. It wasn't the big commercial hit some were predicting, though it garnered good notices for Burt Reynolds, doing another of his amiable walk-throughs. Jill Clayburgh, just prior to her breakthrough in "An Unmarried Woman", plays the daughter of the football team's owner, and her rapport with Reynolds is surprisingly instantaneous. Kris Kristofferson, on the other hand, ends up playing straight man to her and pal Reynolds, and the third-wheel position subdues low-keyed Kristofferson even further (he evaporates). There are some funny potshots at the EST craze, with Bert Convy well-cast as a self-help guru, but the romantic comedy at the heart of the piece never quite takes off. Ritchie puts all his sting into the absurdities happening around the principals, a move which consequently leaves the finale seeming half-baked. ** from ****

"Semi-Tough" has got to be one of the best comedies of all time. The casting is perfect, and the acting is very understated. You could really identify with Kris Kristofferson, Bert Reynolds, and Jill Clayburgh as lost children of the 1960s looking for the answers to life in the 1970s. They parody to a "T" some of the self-help and consciousness raising scams of the times.

I especially loved the thinly disguised "BEAT" which closely paralleled "est" (Erhard Seminars Training, and they always wrote the acronym in lower case) which attracted many followers. I had the misfortune that year of working for a boss who was an est graduate (they called themselves "estholes") and two ex-hippie co-workers. est was their life, almost like a religion to them, and they were always pressuring the other workers on the team to take est. They had their own language -- e.g. "I'll take responsibility for that," "We have an agreement," and especially "I got it." (meaning I understand it). While Kris Kristofferson "got" the training, Jill Clayburgh did not. Since they wanted to get married they were afraid of a "mixed marriage." Fortunately Burt Reynolds also takes BEAT training and pretends to "get it" although you later learn he saw right through it from the beginning. Burt Convy as the seminar leader bore a striking resemblance to Warner Erhard, the founder and leader of est.

For your $300, the training consisted of two weekends spent in a hotel ballroom from about 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM both days. There were no breaks even to eat or go to the bathroom (no kidding!) The stunts in the movie paralleled the real est training, with things like lying on the floor hugging your pillow while kicking your feet in the air. After the training you were supposedly a changed person, free of your old hang-ups. Fortunately, I found another job where I was not subject to "estual harassment."

Robert Preston, the Team Owner, played his role perfectly too. To a background of Gene Autry records which matched his own view of the world, he tried many other psychic movements, including crawling around on the floor rather than walking. They also tried "Pelfing," a thinly veiled send-up of Rolfing. In fact, one other football player was a devotee of "pyramid power," proudly wearing a pyramid from a necklace.

This movie has been on TV but not recently. It would be fun to see it again. Interesting that the IMDB poll for this movie shows that viewers over 45 enjoyed it much more than the kids under 18. Yeah, they weren't around during those happy days of Disco, Leisure Suits, disaster movies, gas lines, est, Lifespring, Rolfing, Pyramid Power, and of course, "Happy Days."

If you enjoyed "Semi-Tough," another film you'd like is "Serial."

Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson team up to play a pair of amiable pro-football players in Semi-Tough a good natured comedy about these two and the owner'd daughter. Sounds like you should be waiting for punchline and in a sense the whole film is one.

Jill Clayburgh is the owner's daughter, the owner being Robert Preston who is a flamboyant Texas millionaire and owner of the Dallas football team which for copyright reasons is never referred to as the Cowboys.

Having grown up with the team Clayburgh is on a first name basis with all the players and they treat her with due deference. She'd like a little more going with either Reynolds or Kristofferson, but can't make her mind up which one. It's almost like Crosby/Hope/Lamour without any songs.

Some nice performances will be found from masseuse Lotte Lenya, fake motivational speaker Bert Convy, and also the best from Brian Dennehy as a defensive end who's really abusing the steroids. It's from Dennehy that we get some potentially serious moments in an easy going film.

Fans of the leads should appreciate Semi-Tough.

Well, I loved the book - absolutely LOVED it! This film is a sort of decent stab at adapting Dan Jenkins great book, but, mainly due to language and Political Correctness, it ends up falling flat. Much of the humor in the book is racial (both directions, by the way), sophomorically sexual or otherwise politically incorrect. Since much of that had to be dropped from the film, a good bit of the books' humor is lost. And, as with many films, there is less room for character development than in a book. Still, with Burt Reynold and Jill Claiburgh, it has some considerable charm and humor. The story line is pretty faithful to the book, although there are a couple of changes that I wish hadn't been made to the story. Kris Kristofferson offers up a surprisingly good performance, and he's never impressed me as an actor before (nor singer either, for that matter). Overall, not a bad film, but you'd probably like the book better - I do!