Semi-Pro

Semi-Pro is a 2008 comedy set in 1976, during the final days of the American Basketball Association. Jackie Moon, a one-hit-wonder pop singer, has poured his money into the Flint Michigan Tropics, the worst team in the league, and serves as its owner, coach and star player. When the ABA is set to be absorbed by the NBA, only the strongest clubs will survive the merger, leaving the Tropics facing extinction. To keep the franchise alive, Jackie sets out to lift his misfit squad up the standings, hiring a former NBA player, Monix, whose career was derailed by a knee injury, to help turn the team around.

The film was directed by Kent Alterman from a screenplay by Scot Armstrong, with Jimmy Miller producing. Will Ferrell leads the cast as Jackie Moon, alongside Woody Harrelson as Monix, André 3000 as Clarence, Maura Tierney as Lynn, Andy Daly as Dick Pepperfield and Will Arnett as Lou Redwood. It was a large production, with 80 credited cast members and 120 credited crew.

Semi-Pro was released on February 28, 2008, and runs 91 minutes. Made for a budget of 55 million dollars, it took in about 34 million dollars worldwide, a return well below its cost. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.8 from around 89,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.6 from roughly 917 votes. A critics' score of 4.8 from 159 reviews places it somewhat below even the modest audience ratings.