Is Will Ferrell the new Jim Carrey?

Curly-haired Saturday Night Live veteran Ferrell has only been making movies and TV shows for 10 years, but his resume of feature film appearances is already close to the length of Carrey’s, five years older and in the business since 1983. Granted, Ferrell’s percentage of leading roles isn’t as impressive, and he’s nowhere close to pulling down the $25 million salary Carrey collected for “Bruce Almighty,” but hey, the guy’s not hurting for work.

And that means moviegoers like what they see in this Joe Next Door.

A solidly built 6-foot-3, Ferrell’s at his best playing the humble, polite, slightly inept Everyman who’d rather take a soccer ball to the groin than say a confrontational word. His fans from SNL days know they’ll be laughing, at times uproariously, at the wildly absurd physical humor that ensues when he breaks out of his Mr. Nice Guy shell.

That’s the whole joke in “Kicking & Screaming,” a barely-family-friendly sports comedy that pits long-suffering Ferrell against his ultra-competitive dad (Robert Duvall) as rival coaches of their sons’ soccer teams. When Duvall keeps benching Ferrell’s son Sam and ultimately trades him to another team, Ferrell decides to become Sam’s new coach and enlists the help of the best expert he knows: former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, who also happens to be Duvall’s vindictive neighbor.

At first, Ferrell just wants to inspire his last-place players with team cheers of “Let’s have fun!” But as Ditka introduces him first to the competitive mindset and then to coffee drinks, he loses all perspective. Mayhem ensues as he goes to outrageous lengths to give his team the advantage in the playoffs.

The squad of 10-year-old misfits with cleats and shinguards is another big chuckle-factory, with a roster including a kid who eats worms, a tiny Asian tyke, a goofy-looking jokester, a big quiet boy and Sam, who has no discernable talent for the game. Their team record starts to skyrocket upward with the addition of two Italian soccer phenoms, who are happy to make new friends and share their amazing ball-handling skills with their teammates – out of sight of Ferrell, who by this time insists that the only play in their book boils down to “get the ball to the Italians.”

And how does Mike Ditka fare as an actor? At least his role wasn’t much of a stretch – the Chicago legend known for his crusty mood and loud mouth gets to play himself, no embellishments needed. He pulls it off quite well, with nary a flat line or timing misstep.

“Kicking & Screaming” is a formula sports movie, no doubt – where it all comes down to the Big Game – with one of the most satisfying payoff scenes in a long time. But mostly, it deals with fathers and sons. Duvall is brilliant (as always) in his first broad comedy role, playing a close-minded curmudgeon who truly feels he’s doing his son a favor by being tough on him. For similar great father-son movie – with lots more to offer as well – rent Ron Howard’s 1989 comedy, “Parenthood,” starring Jason Robards and Steve Martin.

“Kicking & Screaming”

Rated PG for thematic elements, language and some crude humor

Starring: Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Mike Ditka, Kate Walsh, Dylan McLaughlin

Directed by: Jesse Dylan

Length: One hour 35 minutes

Now playing at: Astoria Gateway Cinemas, Cannes Cinema Center in Seaside

Short take: Mild-mannered Will Ferrell takes over his son’s misfit soccer team and turns into a cutthroat monster trying to compete with his dad and rival coach, Robert Duvall. Ferrell’s good, Duvall is great and the soccer’s fun.

Rating: Two and a half stars (out of four)

Movie trivia: Who are director Jesse Dylan’s famous relatives?

Answer: Jesse Dylan is the son of folk music legend Bob Dyland and the brother of Jakob Dylan, lead singer of The Wallflowers.