After several failed attempts to convince my fellow Mildly Pleasers to do a Burt Reynolds-themed month (Novem-Burt could have been something beautiful) for our movie podcast, The Pick, I’ve made the difficult but necessary decision to go it alone and devote four Fridays this month to Hollywood’s top-grossing star from 1978 to 1982.
For the Friday before THE BIG GAME, I decided to review a Burt Reynolds football movie. No, not the good one, the other one, Semi-Tough based on the 1972 novel by Dan Jenkins. I was hoping I’d found a diamond in the rough with this one. Directed by Michael Ritchie, who already had two celebrated sports films under his belt with Downhill Racer and The Bad News Bears, I figured the guy knew sports. What could go wrong? The answer: A lack of sports.
Now, I wasn’t expecting much gridiron panache from 41-year-olds Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson-even though Reynolds did play ball at Florida State-but I at least expected something compelling when these two hit the field.
The truth is, Semi-Tough isn’t really a football movie, it’s a lazy love triangle between Reynolds, Kristofferson, and the great Jill Clayburgh. Is there stuff to like? Sure, as long as it isn’t football.
Running Back Billy Clyde (Reynolds) and Wide Receiver Shake (Kristofferson) are best friends who play for “The Miami Team” (guess they couldn’t get the rights to the Dolphins) after securing a playoff berth. The team is owned by Big Ed Bookman (Robert Preston), who has a daughter named Barbara (Clayburgh), a charming Southern woman who wears her heart on her sleeve. Barbara has feelings for both Billy Clyde and Shake, and the three find themselves tangled in a messy love affair while on the brink of football greatness. It’s kind of like Challengers… If Challengers were made by your parents.
The lack of stakes gives Semi-Tough a hangout movie vibe, which isn’t always a bad thing. Two of my favorite scenes involve Billy Clyde going about his typical routine as a horny football player.
Early in the film, Barbara picks Shake as her beau, despite having more in common with Billy Clyde. So Billy Clyde has to find his kicks elsewhere. One night before a game, he hits on a bigger girl, Earlene (Mary Jo Catlett). She assumes Billy Clyde is trying to embarrass or prank her by inviting her back to his hotel room, but he’s not.
Sure, Billy Clyde is just trying to get laid, but if you want the perfect encapsulation of the Reynold’s charm, watch this scene:
Whether or not you believe Reynolds was a good actor, you can’t deny his undeniable ability to operate just above sleazy in a way that’s weirdly endearing. He’s a guy’s guy with enough wit to know how to be sensitive. He’s a true ladies’ man.
Burt’s other standout scene is when he visits a no-nonsense masseuse (Lotte Lenya) who pokes and prods at his body while he desperately tries to get her to stop. The scene riffs on a B.S. alternative medicine trend of the time called “Rolfing.”
The Rolfing scene isn’t the only instance of Semi-Tough poking fun at self-improvement fads and seminars of the era. Shake is a follower of a program called B.E.A.T.: “Bismarck Energy Action Training,” where participants are shouted at and torn down by an arrogant leader, Friedrich Bismarck (Bert Convy). Shake attributes B.E.A.T. to his newfound confidence and with said confidence, proposes to Barbara. The couple agree to get married after the Super Bowl, but when Barbara attends a seminar with Billy Clyde and she and Billy are turned off by the whole experience, she starts to have second thoughts.
I like Kris Kristofferson, he’s pretty cool in the Blade movies, but the film never makes much of a case for why Barbara decides to marry Shake when she so clearly prefers Billy Clyde. I get that part of it is because he asked first, but the love triangle would feel more compelling with a more engaging, maybe even younger actor in the role of Shake.
Ultimately, the “Miami Team “ beats the “Dallas Team” in the BIG GAME, but we see little of it beyond a few plays. The real climax comes at Barbara and Shake’s wedding, when Shake realizes Barbara is crying, not from happiness, and says, “I don’t.” Chaos erupts, and the film ends with Barbara and Billy Clyde taking a walk on the beach, finally admitting their feelings for each other. It’s a sweet ending to a forgettable film.
Semi-Tough received mixed reviews but was a modest hit, even spawning a short-lived TV series in 1980 starring Bruce McGill as Billy Clyde and David Hasselhoff as Shake. SEE? Hasselhoff. Now that’s a better choice for Shake. But the film is best remembered for its jabs at new-age nonsense, something I appreciate more than I actually enjoy.
Still, if my goal this month was to figure out why Burt Reynolds was such an icon of the 1970s, Semi-Tough is a touchdown! …Eh, maybe just a field goal.