PopSyndicate.com

Let’s get Tropical!

Who is Jackie Moon? Favorite son of Flint Michigan and recording star, Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell) is owner\coach\player to the Flint Tropics, a basketball team in the ABA – that’s the American Basketball Association. Not quite the NBA, the Tropics have a wide losing streak and next to no fan base. That’s all going to change, though, when four ABA teams get drafted into the NBA. So despite the fact that they suck, the funkalicious Jackie Moon vows to bring his team into fourth place and win a spot in the NBA.

Like all frat-pack pics, the totality of Semi-Pro’s plot can be summarized easily. The real story behind Semi-Pro, as anyone can tell, is not the plot but the comedians in it. Will Farrell, comedy’s current golden boy, plays the basic Will Ferrell part beautifully. Part hopeless idiot, part unending enthusiasm and a whole lot of humiliation, Jackie Moon’s character can easily be switched out with the likes of Chazz Michael Michaels (from Blades of Glory) or Ricky Bobby (of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby). And honestly, that’s what the people want, isn’t it? He’s a formula that works, and though he’s broken out of his mold from time to time with parts in films like Stranger Than Fiction, he shows us in Semi-Pro that he’s the same comedian he always has been, and still on top of his game, if you’ll pardon the pun.

Joining Will Ferrell is a colorful cast of extremely talented people. Andre Benjamin is the fantastically identity confused Clarence “Coffee” Black, and by God, the man has acting chops – something that makes me boundlessly happy as both a fan of film and music. Woody Harrelson plays Monix, an ex-NBA star with a chip on his shoulder. Harrelson’s comedic talent has been proven before, and in Semi-Pro, we are not let down. He plays his part loosely, understated, which works wonderfully with Farrell’s over the top performance. Andrew Daly is always a joy to see in action, and his wittier-than-thou performance is beautifully matched with that of The Upright Citizens Brigaide’s Will Arnett.

For fans of the UCB, Matt Walsh also appears, and check the improv section in the bonus features (a stroke of genius as far as bonus features are concerned) for Amy Sedaris’s unfortunately cut but utterly ingenious part – you’ll see another familiar face. The always angry seeming Maura Tierney is here, as well as Andy Richter, Patti LaBelle, Tim Meadows, and DeRay Davis.

From a film like this, one wouldn’t expect much of the plot. It is very much a formula film, mocking the likes of Hoosiers and other such sport films, but it knows when to play it straight and when to mock away. Though I spent most of the movie laughing, the end grabbed me (much like Blades of Glory, which used the same sports film formula) and the big finish managed to toss in bizarrely funny bits while maintaining the tension. The introduction of taint-cam, while somewhat disturbing considering how tiny Ferrell’s shorts were, is just one example.

Keeping in with the factual side of the ABA, the film is set in 1976, and the kitsch factor of the seventies is played to the nines. There are ‘fros all around, and disco everywhere (including the omnipresent “Love Me Sexy”, Jackie Moon’s one and only hit). The sets, the costumes - all over the top and brilliantly played out.

Semi-Pro comes in a two disc set, which is utterly fantastic. There are more bonuses on this DVD than some criterion sets I’ve seen. A plethora of deleted scenes is paired with deleted improv bits, which is far and away my favorite of the bonuses. There are fantastic and highly informational (not to mention very interesting) featurettes on the ABA (and it’s interesting to see just how factually accurate the story behind Semi-Pro is). Also included is a featurette with the writer, and one on filming in Flint Michigan.

But wait, sports fans, that’s not all! There are three, count ‘em three trailers (one of which is r-rated – my favorite kind), the full “Love Me Sexy” video, a featurette on the making of the song “Love Me Sexy” (Look for Will Ferrell in a “Free the West Memphis Three” shirt – props to him for it), more of the character Dick Pepperfield (Andrew Daly), and other advertising material. The film itself is presented in two formats, the theatrical edition and the Love Me Sexy edition (unrated and extended, as one would expect). The extras on this set are stellar, and all of them well worth visiting.

Though the film itself isn’t one for the ages it is very funny, and the endless extras make this DVD a fantastic addition to any collection. Judged on the film alone, I might have ranked it lower, but the bonuses are too good to pass up.

4