| Semi-Pro | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kent Alterman |
| Written by | Scot Armstrong |
| Produced by | Jimmy Miller |
| Starring | Will Ferrell Woody Harrelson André Benjamin Maura Tierney Will Arnett David Koechner |
| Cinematography | Shane Hurlbut |
| Edited by | Debra Neil-Fisher Peter Teschner |
| Music by | Theodore Shapiro |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $55 million[1] |
| Box office | $43.9 million[2] |
Semi-Pro is a 2008 American sportscomedy film. The film was directed byKent Alterman in hisdirectorial debut, written byScot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It starsWill Ferrell,Woody Harrelson,André 3000 (credited as André Benjamin), andMaura Tierney, set during the final season of theAmerican Basketball Association and telling the story of a fictional ABA team desperate to survive the league's merger with theNBA. The film was shot inLos Angeles nearDodger Stadium (in the gym of theLos Angeles City Fire Department Training Center), inDetroit, and inFlint, Michigan. Released in theaters on February 19, 2008, and released onDVD andBlu-ray Disc on June 3, 2008,[2] it was the last film fromNew Line Cinema before they were absorbed byWarner Bros. Pictures. As of 2025, it is the only film directed by Kent Alterman. The film received generally negative reviews, with critics criticizing the script, though Ferrell's performance received praise.
In 1976, Jackie Moon is a singer who used the profits from hisone-hit wonder, "Love Me Sexy", to buy a basketball team in theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA), theFlint Tropics, becoming the owner, head coach, startingpower forward, and pre-game announcer. At a team owner's meeting, Alan Ault, the ABA Commissioner, announces a plan tomerge the league with theNational 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 theKentucky Colonels for Ed Monix, a backuppoint guard who won an NBA Championship with theBoston 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 desperatehalftime show stunts in order to boost attendance, including wrestling a live bear and freecorn dogs for the audience should the Tropics score over 125 points. Monix becomes fed up with Moon's 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 thejejunum, 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 placeSan 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 can 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 inHeaven 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: thealley-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 the score should count. 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 2free throws. Shooting granny style, Jackie sinks the first basket. The second bounces off the rim but Monix tips in the rebound right at thebuzzer 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 interrupted when Ault is mauled by a bear. At the end of the film, Dukes received a portion of the money Jackie owed him with a promise to get the rest once the buyout was completed.
In addition, formerAmerican Basketball Association players,Artis Gilmore andGeorge Gervin, appear in uncredited roles as customers in a restaurant, while the already extensive list ofSaturday Night Live cast members includesJerry Minor, in the uncredited role of DJ at the nightclub.[3]
The bear featured inSemi-Pro was a 5-year-old,7+1⁄2-foot-tall (2.3 m), 700-pound (320 kg) malegrizzly bear named Rocky, who appeared in a scene where Will Ferrell's character wrestles the animal to promote his basketball team. Stuntman and trainer Randy Miller doubled for Ferrell during the wrestling match with the bear. On April 22, 2008, seven weeks afterSemi-Pro entered wide release, Rocky was filming another wrestling video with 39-year-oldStephan Miller (Randy Miller's cousin and a fellow animal trainer). The bear responded aggressively, and fatally bit Stephan Miller on the neck.[4] The bear was not euthanized as an investigation ruled Miller's death was accidental, but Rocky's contact with humans was restricted.[5]
Semi-Pro received generally negative reviews from critics. The review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval score of 23% based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Semi-Pro is an intermittently funny, half-hearted attempt at sports satire, and one of Will Ferrell's weaker cinematic efforts."[10]Metacritic reported that the film had an average score of 47 out of 100, based on 29 reviews.[11] Matt Zoller Seitz ofNew York Times said, "Semi-Pro finds the sweet spot between sports melodrama and parody, and hammers it for 90 diverting minutes."[12]
Peter Travers writing forRolling Stone stated, "when the script, by Scott Armstrong, shoots air balls, Ferrell is a slam-dunk."[13] Claudia Puig ofUSA Today said, "Although not exactly a slam dunk,Semi-Pro is definitely more than semi-funny."[14] In his review forThe Village Voice,Robert Wilonsky gave the film 2 stars of a possible 4 and wrote that director Kent Alterman, "valiantly tries to tweak the formula by adding a dash more sincerity and humanity to the froth but doesn't get too adventurous. But in the end, it's comedy comfort food, something powdered poured from a box."[15]
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $15 million in 3,121 theaters in theUnited States andCanada, holding the number one position at the box office.[16] Alicia Chang of the Associated Press described the opening as "lackluster" compared to Ferrell's previous sports spoofsTalladega Nights, which opened with $47 million, andBlades of Glory, which opened with $33 million. The basketball film went on to gross $33,479,698 domestically and $10,405,206 internationally, for a total of $43,884,904 worldwide.[2]
2008ESPY Awards
The film was released on DVD andBlu-ray Disc on June 3, 2008 byNew Line Home Entertainment. There is a theatrical R-Rated version DVD and a 2-Disc "Let's Get Sweaty" Unrated Edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Special features include unrated deleted scenes and more.
| Semi-Pro (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | February 26, 2008 |
| Genre | Funk |
| Label | New Line Records |
The soundtrack for the film was released on February 26, 2008, and featured songs byLaBelle,WAR,Curtis Mayfield, Will Ferrell, among others. "Love Me Sexy" is sung by the fictional Jackie Moon (played by Will Ferrell).
