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Semi-Pro (2008)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 4.5/10
Reviews Counted: 156
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 123

Semi-Pro is an intermittently funny, half-hearted attempt at sports satire, and one of Will Ferrell's weaker cinematic efforts.

Average Rating: 4.9/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 23

Semi-Pro is an intermittently funny, half-hearted attempt at sports satire, and one of Will Ferrell's weaker cinematic efforts.

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Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 272,964

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Movie Info

The American Basketball Association is on the verge of collapse, and when a former NBA benchwarmer returns to his hometown of Flint, MI, to whip his former team into shape for the playoffs, redemption is just a free throw away in this period sports comedy starring Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson. Penned by Old School scribe Scot Armstrong, Semi-Pro tells the tale of a 1970s-era basketball player who doesn't have much luck in the NBA, but vows to leave his mark on the sport by coaching the Flint

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Comedy

Directed By: Kent Alterman

Written By: Scot Armstrong

In Theaters: Feb 19, 2008 Wide

On DVD: Jun 3, 2008

Box Office:$33.4M

New Line Cinema

Semi-Pro Trailer & Photos

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Cast

Will Ferrell
Jackie Moon
Woody Harrelson
Ed Monix
Andr� Benjamin
Clarence "Downtown" Wit...
Andrew Daly
Dick Pepperfield
Will Arnett
Lou Redwood
Andy Richter
Bobby Dee
David Koechner
Commissioner
Rob Corddry
Kyle
Matt Walsh
Father Pat the Ref
Jackie Earle Haley
Dukes
Maura Tierney
Lynn
Patti LaBelle
Jackie's Mom
Tim Meadows
Cornelius
DeRay Davis
Bee-Bee Ellis
Jay Phillips
Scootsie Doubleday
Josh Braaten
Twiggy Munson
Peter Cornell
Vakidis
Pat Kilbane
Petrelli
Kristen Wiig
Bear Handler
Jason Sudeikis
Nachos Fan
Ed Helms
Turtleneck
Brian Huskey
White Pants

Critic Reviews for Semi-Pro

All Critics (159) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (125) | DVD (16)

The semifunny Semi-Pro is amiable enough, but you never feel there's much at stake.

March 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Newsweek

| Comment

David Ansen

Newsweek

Top Critic

Judging from this low-scoring sports comedy about the mystique of men with balls, Will Ferrell needs to call a time-out from belly baring to refocus his fan-favorite game of playing clueless male doofuses.

March 6, 2008 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly

| Comment

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Top Critic

You take the Will Ferrell formula and you plug it in, but somehow it just feels kind of uninspired and flat.

March 3, 2008 Comment

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

There are some ludicrous sight gags and uniquely silly, if foul-mouthed, laughs. The movie falters when it tries to be serious. Fortunately, those moments are few.

February 29, 2008 Full Review Source: USA Today

| Comment

Claudia Puig

USA Today

Top Critic

You can't help but marvel, and laugh at, Ferrell's indefatigable enthusiasm and willingness to make a complete ass of himself.

February 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

| Comment

Peter Howell

Toronto Star

Top Critic

Ferrell is capable of a great deal more than he's been delivering. It might surprise him to learn that white men can jump. But first they have to try.

February 29, 2008 Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News

| Comment

Bruce Newman

San Jose Mercury News

Top Critic

Semi-Pro isn't the most well-designed of comedies, it's far too disjointed without enough thought given to making it work as a whole, but there are enough genuinely funny moments, especially from upstart Daly, to make it worth a look.

March 30, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net

| Comment

Joshua Starnes

ComingSoon.net

Root-canal territory all the way

August 27, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion

| Comment

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro is a dreadful comedy. It's lazy and slipshod.

February 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Fayetteville Free Weekly

| Comment

Tony Macklin

Fayetteville Free Weekly

No amount or combination of shame, absurdity and unflattering outfits seem to dint Ferrell's fierce commitment to character.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Screen International

| Comment

Brent Simon

Screen International

It isn't a good enough sports movie to please sports fans and it's not an outright funny enough movie to please Ferrell's fans.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs

| Comment

Scott Nash

Three Movie Buffs

In the end it's too simply all too familiar.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk

| Comment

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

Semi-Pro offers nothing new.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review

| Comment

Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel

3BlackChicks Review

You end up with a movie that is way too simple-minded for adults on an ABA nostalgia trip, and way too dirty for kids.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News

| Comment

Gary Thompson

Philadelphia Daily News

A lot of it is funny, but the problem is that it doesn't amount to much.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Entertainment Insiders

| Comment

Jonathan W. Hickman

Entertainment Insiders

Unfortunately, the outrageousness lessens in the second half of the film, becoming your straight forward underdog movie.

October 1, 2008 Full Review Source: Hollywood.com

| Comment

Kit Bowen

Hollywood.com

Coming from someone that didn't like Ferrell's last few comedies, I can say that this is an improvement.

July 22, 2008 Full Review | Comments (2)

Austin Kennedy

Sin Magazine

we don't really need any more of these movies

July 5, 2008 Comments (2)

Stefan Birgir Stefansson

sbs.is

Qualifies as a sort of cinematic comfort food: it's the mac and cheese of the cineplex.

July 1, 2008 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews

| Comment

Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews Source: Groucho Reviews

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Audience Reviews for Semi-Pro

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The Greatest Fro on EarthSaw it again! Will Ferrell + Basketball = To me a good comedy which I enjoyed and laughed alot. Easy story to follow and never boring. Nice cast.Three men, three dreams. It's 1976 in Flint, Michigan. Jackie Moon's American Basketball Association team languishes in last place, with few fans in

February 27, 2008

Manu Gino

Super Reviewer

Semi Pro is funny and has a bit of heart, and I love Will Ferell, but this film was boring and nothing really happens. Jackie Moon (Will Ferell) is a coach for an ABA team and when he and his team is offered a chance into the NBA, Jackie must pull all his strings to get his team from last place and into the Top 4.

August 11, 2011

Brad Wright

Super Reviewer

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