Time to go to new heights On American soil, they simply could not help but love basketball, a rapidly developing sport, which in many international territories was a very significant competitor to larger-scale and traditional football. Quite simple to understand rules, as well as the dynamics with which the game took place, allowed basketball to win back its position even from such a beloved American baseball, which in turn meant that big businessmen were simply obliged to turn their attention to this sport and turn its entertainment into a significant profit. By far the most prominent and influential organization controlling basketball in America is the NBA, with which it was virtually pointless to compete. However, the more influential officials wanted to say their word in basketball, the more fierce the confrontation arose in the high offices. Finally, an unspoken but fierce war for its place under the rays of basketball fame led to the emergence of ABA, the American Basketball Association, in 1967, which became for many years a full-fledged alternative to the NBA. Unlike the latter, the ABA did not have to contribute $1.5 million to the championship. Also, so-called regional teams were practiced here, performing at various venues of their state, which provided additional attractiveness to the basketball competition. However, time put everything in its place and the leaders of the ABA still decided to merge with the NBA, not forgetting to specify certain requirements that needed to be met. And although after decades, only devoted connoisseurs of basketball and sports history began to remember about the ABA championship, this period passed for American sports not for nothing, but because of the efforts of director Kent Alterman and screenwriter Scott Armstrong, let a somewhat belated, and nevertheless very entertaining and even informative film, entitled “Semi-Professional” & #39;.
So, the plot of this story takes place in the 70s of the last century, when after several successful seasons, ABA officials finally decided to merge with the NBA, and this in turn meant that many of the existing teams would soon cease to exist. According to the agreement between the associations, no more than four teams will move from the ABA to the NBA, while the rest will disband, or move to amateur leagues, from where it is almost impossible to get out to the professional level. And such unfunny career prospects in no way add appeasement to the playing coach and part-time owner of a modest basketball team ' Flint Tropix', Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell). Having become famous in the distant past, having borrowed capital and went to the basketball fields, Moon never claimed anything great with his team, and yet Jackie warmed up his place in the ABA and he was very happy to play the sport that he liked so much. Now that the ABA has only four teams left in the NBA, Moon has decided to get into the coveted four. The truth for this is to do almost the impossible. And in order to somehow increase his chances of success, Jackie attracts to work on the formation of a team of winners basketball veteran Ed Monix (Woody Harrelson), with whom it is sometimes not so easy to find a common language, but after all, other options in such a difficult situation are still not foreseen.
Without the participation of the famous cast 'Professional' most likely never took place, and therefore for the fact that the film still appeared on the screens, it is largely worth thanking Will Ferrell, who has a special craving for sports comedies. Having spare time, not echoing his work with Adam McKay and Judd Apatow, Ferrell went to conquer the ice palaces in ' Lesvies of Fame' and could not miss the opportunity to test his strength in basketball ' Semiprofessional' Of course, the physical form of Ferrell leaves much to be desired and in the scenes where he demonstrates his bare torso, it is perfectly clear that he is not only not a professional, but does not even belong to amateurs, and nevertheless the actor is not at all embarrassed. On the contrary, he speculates on his physical image and never ceases to show how flawed and specific his characters are, regardless of what they do. In 'Semi-professional' Ferrell traditionally takes on topics that have not been met before in his career, and at the same time we observe quite a typical image of a complacent fool who, despite all his many shortcomings, will try to reach the planned peak. And such efforts of Ferrell are traditionally loved by the ordinary public, because against the background of the title character, even the most outspoken loser will be able to feel like a winner and decide on a big step in life. The only thing that is a little surprising is that, unlike other sports films with the participation of Ferrell, ' Semi-Professional' could not achieve serious performance in the world box office, although he did get his own in the segment of home video, which is also very good.
A little faded in comparison with overplaying on all articles Ferrell looks Woody Harrelson. Of course, he is an actor who has long proved that he is a special character in Hollywood, but you could still expect something more from him than a template performance of the role. The hero of Harrelson could bring a special highlight to the plot, but he did not do this, having worked out the shooting contract with dignity, but without something truly unique. However, as always, Will Ferrell fully plays for his colleagues, who is only happy when there is an opportunity to properly indulge and show some crazy absurdity, for which he often agrees to work. Andre Benjamin also gets his share of attention, but in his place there could be some other actor and this would not affect the impression of the film in any way. Still, Will Ferrell drowns out everything, and you need to get used to it if you want to watch a movie with his participation.
Of particular interest is the fact that many of the moments presented in the film are based on very real events taking place between the ABA and the NBA. The creators conducted good preparation and tried to turn their script into a kind of documentary. However, don’t expect any historical revelations from The Professional 39, as the team itself, as well as its members and owner, are completely fictional characters that would never have appeared in reality. This is easy to understand as soon as you begin to familiarize yourself with the picture. And yet, despite all the stupidities and exaggerations, ' Semi-professional' stylistically well sustained and it is clear that the production budget was spent purely for its intended purpose. So we made a good excursion into the past, no matter how crazy it was at the suggestion of Will Ferrell.
6 out of 10