Before there was only the NBA there was also a “small-ball” league known as the American Basketball Association (ABA). The new Will Farrell picture Semi-Pro tells the humorous and unlikely story of the Flint, Michigan Tropics. Starring as owner/player/coach- Jackie Moon- Farrell takes his antics to the hard-wood.
In the 1970s the Tropics were a struggling team at the bottom of the ABA standings when the NBA called the league Commissioner for a merger. With the condition that the four teams with the largest markets be absorbed into the new-look NBA the next season. To this Jackie argues his way into a compromise with the Commissioner: the four teams with the best overall records would be absorbed.
Semi-Pro has a surprising amount of heart within it. Farrell’s character is more like a man seeking redemption after the death of his mother than just a guy who is interested in making money. Farrell has not quite found that niche of his that produced such memorable comedies like the 2003 family comedy Elf and Anchor Man in 2005 but with Semi-Pro Farrell appears to be heading back to his roots and taking the focus off of him and placing it more on what made his previous movies so successful: the chemistry between himself and the other actors. With a supporting cast of Woody Harrelson, Will Arnett, Andrew Daly, David Koechner, and a cameo by the always humorous Tim Meadows. The on-screen chemistry creates a believable dialogue within this outlandish “semi-true” story.
Some of the more intriguing questions that arise from the movie are the things that are not made up. Such as why is the Flint, MI basketball team called the “Tropics”? Could players really void trades in the middle of a game? Were players really traded for equipment like washing machines? Were there afros that big before Ben Wallace?
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