DVD Release Date: June 3rd, 2008 Starring: Will
Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin, Maura Tierney, Will Arnett, Andy
Richter, Rob Corddry, DeRay Davis, Josh Braaten, Jay Phillips, Jackie Earle
Haley Genre: Comedy, Sports
Review: The 1970s are back in all
their excessive glory in Semi-Pro, an uneven but not uninspired Will
Ferrell comedy about a professional basketball team that puts more energy into
insane promotional schemes than playing well on the court. Ferrell stars as
Jackie Moon, a former pop sensation who made enough money from a couple of hit
records (the biggest: "Love Me Sexy") to buy Flint, Mich.'s the Tropics, a
disorganized bunch of losers with one genuine talent named Coffee Black (Andre
J. Benjamin). Despite knowing little about the game, Jackie is the Tropics'
coach as well as a player, though his greater love is in coming up with such
bizarre marketing stunts as wrestling a bear and attempting a motorcycle jump
over a line of cheerleaders. When the Tropics look like they might be shut down,
Jackie desperately agrees to let washed-up veteran player Monix (Woody
Harrelson) take over coaching, turning the team's fortunes around--just a bit.
The film's thin premise opens the floodgates to a series of absurd vignettes
that suit Ferrell's silly-satiric brand of frat humor very well...more
"Let's Get Sweaty" extras: "Love Me Sexy: The Story
Behind the One-Hit Wonder" featuette, "Recreating the American
Basketball Association (ABA)" featurette, "Four Days in Flint"
featurette, behind-the-scenes footage, music video, more.
Semi-Pro Release
Date: February 29, 2008 Studio: New Line Cinema Director: Kent Alterman Screenwriter: Scot Armstrong Starring: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin, Maura Tierney,
Will Arnett, Andy Richter, Rob Corddry, DeRay Davis, Josh Braaten, Jay Phillips,
Jackie Earle Haley Genre: Comedy, Sports MPAA Rating: R (for language and some sexual content) Official Website:
SemiPromovie.com
Plot Summary: Will Ferrell stars in "Semi-Pro," an outrageous comedy set
in 1976 against the backdrop of the maverick ABA – a fast-paced, wild and crazy
basketball league that rivaled the NBA and made a name for itself with
innovations like the three-point shot and slam dunk contest. Ferrell plays
Jackie Moon, a one-hit wonder who used the profits from the success of his
chart-topping song "Love Me Sexy" to achieve his dream of owning a basketball
team. But Moon's franchise, the Flint Michigan Tropics, is the worst team in the
league and in danger of folding when the ABA announces its plans to merge with
the NBA. If they want to survive, Jackie and the Tropics must now do the
seemingly impossible – win.
EN 5 Second Review:
Now this is a fun movie, Will Ferrell at his best, we
just wonder how many sports he has left.
Very
much in the tradition of "Slap Shot," George Roy Hill's raucously funny
and foul-mouthed 1977 laffer about the misadventures of a minor-league
hockey team, "Semi-Pro" scores big laughs with the rowdy play-by-play of
hard-luck hoopsters struggling for professional survival Joe Leydon: Variety
For some auds, Will Ferrell doing a full-court press in a
white-guy afro alone will be worth the price of admission. But the New
Line release also offers most valuable playing by a first-rate
supporting cast, and enough funny business to ensure enduring playoffs
on homevid and cable after a profitable theatrical run...more
Semi-Pro
tries for semi-sweet when bittersweet would have been
better, semi-silly when full-bore absurd was called for. And
the final score? Semi-funny Roger Moore: Orlando Sentinal
Woody Harrelson jabs a knife into a basketball in the "time
to get serious" scene about 45 minutes into Semi-Pro, the
Will Ferrell comedy about the American Basketball
Association. And that's pretty much when the air goes out of
the movie...more