Semi-Tough

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 ****

Billy Clyde Puckett (Burt Reynolds) and Marvin 'Shake' Tiller (Kris Kristofferson) are best friends and professional football players in Miami on a team owned by Big Ed Bookman (Robert Preston). The two players live with the owner's daughter Barbara Jane (Jill Clayburgh) in a friendship triangle.

The premise starts with a questionable setup. I don't buy these three hot folks never having slept with each other. It would be more compelling if all three have some romantic history together. Nevertheless, I really like these actors and want to buy into their characters. They have plenty of charisma. Burt going with Mary Jo Catlett is very unexpected. I wonder if more could be done with that. After the marriage announcement, the characters start doing some weird stuff. The self-help group has its fun moments but it would work much better if Shake is there with them. I get the attempt at comedic satire but it's a lot of non-sense. The characters and relationships lose their reality. Even the football game has flaws in its realism. The movie does work as a football satire. The self-help satire deteriorates into gobbledygook. Despite the actors' charms, the love triangle struggles.

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!

I didn't think this movie was good at all. I expected it to be a lot better. Some parts were okay but it just didn't make a lot of sense. Burt did better in the movies he did before this movie even. Some parts were funny like when he smiled almost evily but other than that, not that good. 2/5