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Semi-Tough is a american film of genre Drama directed by Michael Ritchie released in USA on 18 november 1977 with Burt Reynolds
Semi-Tough (1977)
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Add to a movie listSemi-Tough is a 1977 American comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie, and stars Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston, Lotte Lenya and Bert Convy, set in the world of American professional football.
The plot involves a love triangle between the characters portrayed by Reynolds, Kristofferson and Clayburgh. Semi-Tough also includes a parody of Werner Erhard's Erhard Seminars Training (est), depicted in the film as an organization called "B.E.A.T."
The film is based on the 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.
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 with Shake until he becomes self-confident after completing a self awareness course called "B.E.A.T." led by Friedrich Bismark that he insists Barbara Jane try, at which point Billy Clyde slyly makes a play to win her for himself.
The film received mixed reception. 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 more with football and less with the new age movement.
Synopsis
Wide receiver Marvin "Shake" Tiller and running back Billy Clyde Puckett are football buddies who play for a Miami pro team owned by Big Ed Bookman (Preston). Bookman's daughter Barbara Jane is roommates with both men, and the film depicts a subtle love triangle relationship between Barbara Jane and her two friends. She initially has romantic feelings for Shake, who has become more self-confident after taking self-improvement training from seminar leader Friedrich Bismark. The program is called Bismark Earthwalk Action Training, or B.E.A.T. After Shake completes his course, he and Barbara Jane sleep together and start a relationship. Barbara Jane is not a follower of B.E.A.T., and Shake is warned by his leader Bismark that "mixed marriages don't work.Actors
Burt Reynolds
(Billy Clyde Puckett)
Kris Kristofferson
(Shake Tiller)
Jill Clayburgh
(Barbara Jane Bookman)
Robert Preston
(Big Ed Bookman)
Lotte Lenya
(Carla Pelf)
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