Semi-Pro - B-

In Theaters. 90 minutes. Rated R for language

In 1976, Coach-Owner-Player Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell) must lead his ABA basketball team, the Flint Tropics, into 4th place before the NBA merges with the best 4 teams and the American Basketball Association disbands. The movie’s just an excuse to get Ferrell to dress up in 70s garb and play vintage music. While this mostly works for me, non-fans of Ferrell should probably pass. (Click below for the rest)Moon is a terrible player and coach but he’s a terrific promoter with great ideas – he knows how to put butts in the seats. Sometimes he gives away corn dogs and sometimes he fights a bear. These are the best moments in the movie since they are original and Ferrell is unleashed. The basketball moments are OK, but they’ve been done before as has the derivative plot - a near carbon copy of Slap Shot (1977) with a little Major League (1989) thrown in.

The supporting cast (including Will Arnett, Woody Harrelson, and Jackie Earle Haley) are fine but have been much better elsewhere. First time director Kent Alterman has served as executive producer from titles as diverse as Mr. Woodcock and Son of the Mask to A History of Violence and Little Children. He’s as inconsistent as a director, too, and struggles with the tone. But this isn’t a contemplative drama about violence or suburbia’s secrets. It’s just a Will Ferrell movie. I rank it below Talladega Nights and slightly below Blades of Glory, but way above Kicking and Screaming. B-