I’ve been a fan of Will Ferrell since his Saturday Night Live days and loved him in Elf, Anchorman, and Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back just to name a few of his hilarious movies. This time out we have The Semi-Pro where he plays Jackie Moon, a 70's one-hit singing wonder who used his money to become owner, coach, and starting power forward for the Flint Tropics of the ABA (American Basketball Association) in 1975.
When Jackie learns that ABA is being absorbed into the NBA, he gets excited when he thinks of the possibilities, especially since he’s more of a showman than a player and his team doesn’t have an impressive winning record. He then learns that the NBA will only be taking the top four teams and disbanding the rest. Jackie then devises a plan to raise attendance and boost the team into fourth place to make the cut.
What we have with the The Semi-Pro is a period piece, with the costumes, hairstyles etc. looking authentic (the ABA did exist, and they were more “showy” than the NBA. It’s also where we get the 3-point shot). However, Ferrell is doing a watered-down version of his characters in Anchorman and he’s basically playing the same character as in Blades of Glory, or Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The only difference is this time he’s a basketball player who is overconfident and unaware of his arrogance, rather than an ice skater or NASCAR driver who is overconfident and unaware of his arrogance.
I hate when studios double-dip (when an already released DVD is re-released with one or two new usually lousy new extras, or when they release two versions of the film on the same day). New Line, in addition to the Blu-ray version of The Semi-Pro, has released a theatrical, no extras included, R-rated version of the DVD, and a 2-disc unrated "Let's Get Sweaty" Edition which seems to be jam-packed with extras and two versions of the film (theatrical and extended). I say seems to be because I was provided the single disc version for review. Since I have no extras to comment on I can’t write about them.
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