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Semi-Tough is a 1977 movie directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Lotte Lenya, Bert Convy, and Brian Dennehy

Plot Synopsis

Semi-Tough is an easy-going comedy about two professional football players (Reynolds and Kristofferson) and their mutual girlfriend (Clayburgh). It was adapted from a novel by Dan Jenkins, Ring Lardner, Jr. (who had his name removed from the film credits) and Walter Bernstein. The film differs materially from the source novel.

Erhard Seminars Training

One of the storylines is a thinly veiled parody of the popular 70s New Age seminar Erhard Seminars Training. For example, Bert Convy played "Frederich Bismark", a caricature on Werner Erhard, whose organization BEAT is the name of the training, standing for "Bismark Energy Action Training", also, a form of Rolfing" was called in the film, as "Pelfing", which many EST people received, in order to straighten them out by painful forms of massaging. In real life, Werner had a Mercedes-Benz, whose licence plate read "SO WUT". in the movie, a limousine's license plate read "BEAT IT".

Reviews

• "Get ready for friendly passes, romantic fumbles and passionate touchdowns in this "bawdy and lively romantic comedy" ~ Variety
• "Starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston and Burt Convy, along with a host of real NFL players, Semi-Tough is an uproarious "comic free-for-all" ~ Playboy
• "Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson star as two pro-football pals who both fall for the team-owner's very rich daughter. Kind of goofy, kind of funny, and somewhat endearing--those are the qualities that surface in this light-hearted comedy built upon an extremely predictable scenario." ~ All Movie Guide
• "...Directed by Michael Ritchie, who was something of a poet of films about competition in the 1970s and early 1980s, this movie has a certain shaggy charm, abetted by Reynolds's knowing way with a one-liner. If Semi-Tough doesn't seem to go much of anywhere, it still has a good time getting there. The best moment is a send-up of an est-like self-actualization program, with the late Bert Convy as a wonderfully smarmy stand-in for Werner Erhard." ~ Marshall Fine, Amazon.com

Trivia

• Semi-Tough was made into a pilot for a television show by the same name. "Semi-Tough" the television pilot aired on January 6, 1980 on ABC. Richard Benjamin and Bill Persky directed, and Mary Louise Weller, Douglas Barr and Josh Taylor were the starring actors.
• Burt Reynolds based his character on his friend Don Meredith's career as a football player.
• When Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson shot the football scenes, they were worked with pro-football athletes. The athletes hit Kristofferson so hard, that they broke a couple of his bones.

Awards

• 1978 - Nominated, WGA Award, Writers Guild of America, Walter Bernstein, Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium.

External links

• Semi-Tough at IMDb
• Semi-Tough at allmovie.com
• Semi-Tough at Yahoo! Movies
• Semi-Tough at Rotten Tomatoes
• Audio Clip from Semi-Tough, at Crazy Ed's Comics

See Also

• Werner Erhard
• Werner Erhard and Associates
• Erhard Seminars Training
• New Age

• 1977 films
• Sports comedy films
• American football films
• Satirical films
• Buddy films
• Human Potential Movement
• Personal development
• New Age
• Films based on fiction books