Semi-Pro (2008)

Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the American Basketball Association's Flint Michigan Tropics, rallies his teammates to make their NBA dreams come true

Director:

Kent Alterman

Writer:

Scot Armstrong

Stars:

Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Ferrell	...	Jackie Moon
Woody Harrelson	...	Monix
André Benjamin	...	Clarence
Maura Tierney	...	Lynn
Andrew Daly	...	Dick Pepperfield
Will Arnett	...	Lou Redwood
Andy Richter	...	Bobby Dee
David Koechner	...	Commissioner
Rob Corddry	...	Kyle
Matt Walsh	...	Father Pat the Ref
Jackie Earle Haley	...	Dukes
DeRay Davis	...	Bee Bee Ellis
Josh Braaten	...	Twiggy Munson
Jay Phillips	...	Scootsie Double Day
Peter Cornell	...	Vakidis

Storyline

Three men, three dreams. It's 1976 in Flint, Michigan. Jackie Moon's American Basketball Association team languishes in last place, with few fans in the seats. Jackie dreams of a merger with the NBA. A tough-minded point guard named Monix is at the end of his career; he's played on the champion Celtics but accepts a trade to Flint to be close to Lynn, the love of his life. Clarence "Coffee" Brown dreams of stardom: he's the Tropics' best player, but he's a hotdog who doesn't value teamwork. When the trio learns that a merger is in the works that won't include the Tropics, they pull the team together to try to achieve the impossible. Can dreams come true in Flint?

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Plot Keywords:

nba | basketball | team | flint michigan | merger | 

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Taglines:

Putting the funk into the dunk.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fél-profi

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£774,698 (UK) (29 February 2008)

Gross:

$33,472,850 (USA) (25 April 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Mosaic Media Group, Donners' Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 98 min (unrated DVD) 99 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the film, Jackie Moon says that he had never vomited before, not even as a baby. In reality, Will Ferrell suffered from pyloric stenosis, a condition that causes frequent vomiting, as a baby. A scar on his upper right abdomen, from the surgery he had to treat this condition, appears in this and many other films.

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Goofs

When fans are clamoring for souvenirs, and the 1976 calendar is being flipped through, February 4th is missing. The calendar goes from Wednesday the 3rd (incorrect for that year) to Thursday the 5th.

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Quotes

Dick Pepperfield: Lou, would you mind putting out that cigarette, it's very unprofessional.
Lou Redwood: No. I like to smoke when I drink.

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Crazy Credits

"No person or entity associated with this film received payment or anything of value, or entered into any agreement, in connection with the depiction of tobacco products."

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Connections

Featured in Getaway: Episode #17.8 (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Why Can't We Be Friends"
Written by Thomas Allen (as Sylvester Allen), Harold R. Brown (as Harold Ray I. Brown),
Morris D. Dickerson (as Morris DeWayne Dickerson), Jerry Goldstein, Lonnie Jordan (as Le Roy L. Jordan),
, Charles Miller (as Charles William Miller), Lee Oskar and Howard E. Scott
Performed by War (as WAR)
Courtesy of Avenue Records

User Reviews

Semi-Pro is only semi-funny, but Will Ferrell is still at the top of his game.

Semi-Pro takes place in the 1970s and is all about a small time basketball team named the Flint Michigan Tropics. The head coach, owner, and promoter is Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell) and he and his team dream of expanding to be part of the big time NBA. However Jackie is told that in order to actually have a chance at getting into the NBA, the Tropics have to get at least 2000 fans in their stadium by deadlines. The problem is that the Tropics do a little more dancing, fighting, and flailing around the court than actually playing the game. So Jackie hires a new team player named Monix (Woody Harrelson) who actually used to play for the NBA. From there on in it's up to Jackie, Monix, and the whole team to fire up some wild and crazy events for the crowd and actually learn to play the sport properly for once in order to reach their dreams.

Will Ferrell has made a bunch of funny movies already. Whether it be Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, and Old School. I haven't seen all of them but I heard they were all funny, mostly because of Will Ferrell's comedic brilliance. Semi-Pro is a funny film but it's really only semi-funny, whereas the rest of Ferrell's movies were hilarious romps. Semi-Pro seems undercooked in the hilarious gag department offering a few very funny moments, but the rest of the movie only has little jokes that usually only offer giggles. My favorite moment in Semi-Pro is when Jackie Moon gets called on a foul by the ref (Also the church priest), and Jackie yells in his face an obscenity and "I'll kill your family!" Another scene that will end up a Will Ferrell classic is when he wrestles a bear, and it ends up attacking him and then getting loose in the stadium.

The music in Semi-Pro is awesome with its funky 70s soundtrack. There's also a song played through the movie sung by Jackie Moon called "Love Me Sexy", and it is as funny a song as Will Ferrell can bring. The rest of the cast includes Outkast's talented Andre Benjamin, Maura Tierney, and Will Arnett and Andrew Daly as two hilarious TV show hosts and broadcasters for the Tropics. Woody Harrelson does a fine job in Semi-Pro but he's never funny, all because the script makes his character Monix serious instead of funny. Maura Tierney really just sits around without much to really do, and even Andre Benjamin's character is made too serious to give us any laughs. I just don't understand why so many of the characters in Semi-Pro were so serious. This is a Will Ferrell comedy, everyone should have some funny moments. This problem is what makes Semi-Pro a mixed bag because only half the movie is really very funny, the rest of the movie is pulled down by far too much seriousness.

Will Ferrell and the musical soundtrack are what elevate Semi-Pro to the point where I can recommend it. Will Ferrell is still a very funny guy and I'm sure he has a lot more hilarious comedies on the way in the mere future. But Semi-Pro pretty much gives Ferrell all the funny moments, when his other movies like Anchorman gave the other characters classic moments as well. I give Semi-Pro a 2.5 out of 4, and a recommendation. It has its moments but is dragged down by far too many unfunny characters.