Semi-Tough (1977)

Directed by

Michael Ritchie

Genre

buddy film, romantic comedy, American football film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 48m

Rated

R

Rating

5.4 of 10 from 58 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two professional football players and best friends share a house with a woman. One friend takes a self-help class and gains confidence which sparks a romance with her. The other friend then tries to win her for himself.

light-heartedfunnysatiricalplayfulromanticsports-themed1970s vibeeasygoing

What happens

Semi-Tough is a 1977 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston, Lotte Lenya, and Bert Convy. It is set in the world of American professional football. The film is based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Dan Jenkins. It was adapted for the screen by writer Walter Bernstein and director Ritchie, who added a new storyline that included a satire of the self-help movement and new religions. The film includes a parody of Werner Erhard's Erhard Seminars Training (est), depicted in the film as an organization called "B.E.A.T.". Semi-Tough follows the story of pro football friends Billy Clyde Puckett and Marvin "Shake" Tiller, who have a third roommate, Barbara Jane Bookman. A romance develops between Shake and Barbara Jane when he becomes self-confident after completing a self awareness course called "B.E.A.T.", at which point Billy Clyde slyly makes a play to win her for himself. The film received mixed receptions. Some reviewers praised its parodies of the est training, Erhard and other new age movements such as Rolfing. Others criticized the script and direction, noting that some of director Ritchie's previous films had more of a personal tone. Still other reviews lamented the film's departure from the novel Semi-Tough, which dealt with football rather than the new age movement. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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