by Miguel Mike Medina
Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it extremely funny? No. Is it an enjoyable movie that’s not meant to be taken seriously? Yes.
This is how I describe the 2008 Basketball/Comedy film, Semi-Pro. The film stars Will Ferrell. You had a solid cast with Woody Harrelson and his funny-looking hair in that movie, Will Arnett, Andre 3000, DeRay Davis, etc. You also had interesting guest cameos like Patti LaBelle, Tim Meadows, Ed Helms, and Kristen Wiig.
I find the movie enjoyable because I love basketball, and I like the ABA/the merger plot. We need to see more stories on screen about the ABA. It’s an important time in basketball history. The movie is set in 1976. A singer named Jackie Moon played by Will Ferrell, uses his profits from his only hit to buy a basketball team that is in danger of going under when the ABA and NBA merge.
You had corny lines from this movie, as well as things that you would see in a typical Will Ferrell movie. In my opinion, it’s not one of his best films. Semi-Pro had good moments in the movie, especially a light-hearted scene between Will Ferrell and Patti LaBelle. The scenes with Will and Woody are good. I’m a fan of Woody Harrelson. He’s a versatile actor. The supporting cast does a solid job, especially Andrew Daly and Will Arnett.
Semi-Pro reminds me of Dodge Ball. The difference is that Semi-Pro is a basketball movie. My overall review for this movie is 3.2 out of 5 stars.
