Trailer - Semi-Pro 2008

About the movie Semi-Pro 2008
The sports comedy Semi-Pro has just wrapped up its theatrical run, delivering Will Ferrell's signature brand of humor to the world of 1970s basketball. Directed by Kent Alterman and written by Scot Armstrong, the film stars Ferrell as Jackie Moon, a one-hit wonder musician who owns and plays for a fictional ABA team fighting for a spot in the NBA. Woody Harrelson and André Benjamin co-star. Produced by New Line Cinema and Mosaic Media Group, this sports comedy film aimed to blend historical sports parody with Ferrell's improvisational style. At the box office, Semi-Pro performed moderately well, meeting expectations but not becoming a breakout hit for Ferrell. Critical reception was largely negative. Professional film reviewers often found the humor inconsistent, the plot formulaic, and the film less inspired than Ferrell's previous sports comedies. IMDb user reviews were mixed, with some viewers enjoying Ferrell's performance and the retro basketball setting, while others found it mostly unfunny and forgettable. See the Semi-Pro movie trailer below.

Cast: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson,
Andre 'Andre 3000' Benjamin, Jay Phillips, Will Arnett
Director: Kent Alterman
Release Date: February 29th, 2008

Sinopsis: Jackie Moon is 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.

Trailer - Semi-Pro



Plot
In 1976, Jackie Moon is a singer who used the profits from his one-hit wonder, "Love Me Sexy", to buy a basketball team in the American Basketball Association (ABA), the Flint Tropics, becoming the owner, head coach, starting power forward, and pre-game announcer. At a team owner's meeting, Alan Ault, the ABA Commissioner, announces a plan to merge the league with the National Basketball Association (NBA), but only four teams will move to the more established league while the rest of the teams would dissolve. The Tropics, the worst team in the league, are in danger of dissolving. Jackie, thinking fast, argues that the teams with the four best records should be merged. Some of the owners agree and vote in favor of Moon's recommendation.

Jackie trades the team's washing machine to the Kentucky Colonels for Ed Monix, a backup point guard who won an NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics, but was mostly benched during the playoffs. Meanwhile, Jackie owes Dukes, an unemployed hippie $10,000 after Dukes scored a shot from the halfway line, and the large check Jackie provided was fake. The Commissioner reveals that in addition to finishing in the top four, the Tropics will also need at least 2,000 fans at every remaining home game. Jackie begins to stage extremely desperate halftime show stunts in order to boost attendance, including wrestling a live bear and free corn dogs for the audience should the Tropics score over 125 points. Monix becomes fed up with Moons antics which has caused them to lose a series of games and when Clarence called Monix out as someone who was benched during the playoffs, Monix threw his championship ring at Clarence, citing he would never play in the NBA. After a brush with the law and reconnecting with his ex-girlfriend, Lynn, Clarence urges Monix to coach the Tropics. Monix agrees to the position much to Moons dismay. Monix trains the team rigorously with a play he calls the "Puke", as the players are to run it until they literally throw up. When Moon revealed that he had never puked, even as a baby, Monix struck him in the jejunum, causing Moon to puke.

From Monix's training as well as the increased intensity of Clarence, the Tropics go on a winning run, moving from last to fifth. Jackie gets a visit from Ault, who revealed that regardless of their score of victories and rise in the ranks, the NBA does not think that Flint has a large enough media market and will not allow the Tropics into the league even if they beat the first place San Antonio Spurs in the last game of the season. After breaking the news to his team, Jackie admits that he stole "Love Me Sexy" from a napkin his mother wrote on three weeks before she died. Realizing that all his assets are basically stolen, Jackie trades Withers to the Spurs so that he may realize his dream of playing in the NBA. Monix reassembles and inspires the team to leave everything on the court, while they may not be able to continue the franchise after this season, they have come very far and still have a lot to prove.

Going into the Spurs game, which Jackie declares the "MegaBowl", the Tropics are in fifth place and with a win they would make it into fourth, even though they will not be allowed into the NBA. The Tropics fall behind quickly, and Jackie is knocked unconscious when fouled hard at the end of the first half. Withers decides he has seen enough and rejoins the Tropics in their locker room, destroying his chance at the NBA with the Spurs. An unconscious Jackie imagines that he is in Heaven with his mother. He apologizes for stealing her song and she gives him a weapon in order to win.

Starting the second half, the Tropics reveal their new weapon: the alley-oop. With the return of Withers, the alley-oop is very effective, but the referee initially calls the play a foul. After some persuasion by Jackie and Monix, the referee is convinced that it is a legitimate play and it's 2 points. With seconds left, they are only behind by two points, 117–115, when the Spurs execute a defense against the Alley-Oop. Monix calls a time-out and tells them to run the "Puke", executing multiple razzle-dazzle passes ending with the ball in Jackie's hands under the net, but he gets fouled hard again with two seconds left, giving him 2 free throws. Shooting granny style, Jackie sinks the first basket. The second bounces off the rim but Monix tips in the rebound right at the buzzer for two points to win, sparking a wild celebration in the arena and the streets of Flint.

The Spurs' coach offers Withers his position back, giving him another shot at the NBA. Ault offers Jackie a position on the staff of the NBA as a marketing director due to his success with the Tropics, but is immediately interrupt when Ault is mauled by a bear. At the end of the film, Duke got a portion of the money Jackie owed him with a promise to get the rest once the buyout was completed.

Comedy / Sport

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