Hilarious Movie, Politically Incorrect, Some Outstanding Performances
"Semi-Tough" is not a movie for everyone. For those who love sports, sick humor and love the politically incorrect, this is definitely your movie. Dan Jenkins (suthor) makes great fun of pro football and the preliminaries leading to the Super Bowl. While the movie is about a Texas team (the Dallas Cowboys?), the foibles are applicable to most pro teams. Sex, boozing, and offbeat behavioral science are the ingredients, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston,Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristopherson are the players and they are downright fun, if a tad unbelievable at times (remember, this is a spoof). While it fails to reach the hilarity of the book, this movie provides more than its share of laughs, many giggles, and some downright guffaws. It is not for the politically correct or weak of heart!

Don't Miss
First off, the movie is different from the Dan Jenkins novel. It is far more textured and layered. The send-up of Est training is hilarious. This is not so much a movie about football as it is a love story with a strong subtext satirizing self-help movements (including Pyramid Power). The dialogue is memorable and Preston's performance would have garnered an academy award if the movie had been perceived as serious and weighty. It IS serious and weighty, but it is done with a light, humorous touch. I have watched this movie at least 20 times and never tire of it. The reason: the performances, of course, but the one-liners are priceless. This is the best introduction to the pantheon of Jenkins characters populating his Ft. Worth-centered novels, with a young Brian Dennehy doing a star turn as T. J. Lambert. If you don't know the novels, you've got a great set of treats ahead of you. In this case the movie is better than the book. Baja Oklahoma was also made into a movie--worth seeing, but not quite as good as the book.

Semi Tough
Burt Reynolds in one of his better films. A bit more serious than all his Smokey & the Bandit films. Perhaps an honest portrayal of his difficulty with his relationships. Was worth seeing again after all these years.

Good Book, Bad Movie
Do yourself a favor, read the book. It is so much better than this nonsense.

Semi-Good.
Semi-Tough is one of the few football movies I never got around to seeing until the other day and I am sorry I waited. It is a humorous, energetic send-up of football, celebrities, and post-sixties New Age mumbo-jumbo. As for what another reviewer said about Jill Clayburgh, I have to agree, she's completely miscast here, but that's my only acting criticism. I think Reynolds is outstanding in this role and really stands out. He is compelling and believable as Billy Clyde Puckett and his presence basically carries the film. What I found most unique and valuable here, however, was the satire involving Friedrich Bismark and BEAT--which was a paper-thin roast of Werner Erhard and EST. It is rather courageous that this movie decided to tangle with those parasites in the way they did, but it remains a rare example of Hollywood using its special position in society to advance the public good. There are other inventive parodies here as well such as the owner's devotion to "moveogenics," and Reynolds having to get "pelted" by a quack doctor. On the whole, Semi-Tough is a good bit of fun and also has something to say to its audience.