"Semi-Pro"" is a Movie Worth Revisiting

I enjoy most sports movies. When the movies focus on sports I watch and play, that makes it an even better viewing experience for me. Over the weekend I revisited one such sports movie from the recent past that I like quite a bit. Let’s discuss.

After I run on Sunday mornings, and get cleaned up, I usually take a rest on the couch. Sometimes I doze off, other times I just want to chill and watch something on the tv. So, yesterday I searched on Max for something to pass the time. Eventually I came across the ABA movie, "Semi-Pro". This movie stars Will Ferrell, and it is about a fictional ABA team, the Flint Tropics. This was when Will Ferrell had a ton of heat on him. He had a blank check and he could do whatever he wanted. I feel like he was given this because of fans like me. I enjoy pretty much every Will Ferrell movie. Even in the adjectively bad movies, I find something to cling to and find myself laughing and laughing. Now, "Semi-Pro" is not a bad movie, far from it. I think it is very funny, the actors totally buy in and they all seem to be having a good time. They also get to cast all of their friends, the basketball is not that bad and the wardrobe is second to none.

For those that may not know, the ABA was a small rival to the NBA. The ABA was more fun, there were more fights, they introduced the 3 point line and dunk contest and the league was full of dysfunction and a form of thievery. "Semi-Pro" has it all, but they imagine a world where it wasn't a foregone conclusion that the Nets, Pacers, Nuggets and Spurs were always going to be the teams that the NBA inherited. In "Semi-Pro", the Kentucky Colonels, Spirits of Saint Louis and the Flint Tropics have a shot to be chosen by the NBA. All they have to do is finish in the top four of the league. This is the baseline story of the movie, but all the while there are jokes flying, solid basketball being played, silly arguments, dope funk music and Will Ferrell and his buddies having a great time on set.

First off, Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, the coach, owner and starting forward of the Tropics. He has a humongous curly afro and has "written" a hit song. He is hilarious. Patti LaBelle plays his mom too. It was so funny when she showed up in the movie. Alongside Ferrell, we have Andre 3000, Woody Harrellson and some other comedy buddies, all having the time of their lives. The point guard for the team has some of the best, most understated jokes in the whole movie. Andy Daly and Will Arnett are the announcers. Their back and forth is tremendous. Andy Ricther and Tim Meadows work with Ferrell and for the Tropics. The whole "jive turkey" scene is one of the most nonsensical and hilarious scenes in movie history for me. Kristen Wiig plays an animal tamer. Paul Rust and Jason Sudeikis are lifetime fans of the Tropics. Jackie Earl Haley, coming off an Oscar nomination, plays a hippy who happens to also be a fan. Rob Cordry is married to Maura Tierney, and he happens to be obsessed with Woody Harrellson's character. David Koechner is the commissioner of the NBA. Matt Walsh is a priest who moonlights as an ABA ref. I mean, the list of comedic names in this movie is truly staggering and makes it all the more funny. For that reason alone, this movie is worth the watch. But, as I said before, the basketball is very well filmed in this movie. Andre 3000 has some skills. When they show them figuring out how to do an alley oop, not only is it funny, but it also looks great. Harrellson obviously has skills due to his time in "White Men Can't Jump". It is no secret that Will Ferrell enjoys basketball. The actors in this movie have enough skills to make it look realistic. Finally, for me, the music in the movie is rad. It is all 70's funk, which I adore. The bass is thumping, the guitars are groovy and the singing makes me yearn to listen to more Parliament. When Ferrell is driving to the club after the first scene in the movie, he is listening to an old school funk song and I find myself singing along with every rewatch of this movie.

"Semi-Pro" is an underrated gem from the late 2000's. It is much better than the critics gave it credit for, and better than you probably remember it being if you have only seen it once. Yesterday was probably the 5th or 6th time I have seen it, and I cannot wait to watch it again. "Semi-Pro" has a special place for me. It is pretty wonderful. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Jon Glaser Loves Gear"

Tru TV is at it again, putting on great, irreverent comedy shows. This past Wednesday, Jon Glaser, who I am a huge fan of, new show premiered, "Jon Glaser Loves Gear". I heard very little about the show until earlier in the week. I was on Facebook and I'm a fan of another Tru TV show called "Those Who Can't", and their page was promoting Glaser's new show. I immediately put it on my DVR so I could watch.

The show's premise is quite simple. Glaser and his gear expert, who he calls "spert", are pitching a show where they go out on random excursions and try out the newest and best gear for that particular trip. The first episode focused solely on a camping trip. After the execs at Tru TV green light the show, Glaser and his "spert" go on a shopping spree. The show is a mix of reality and scripted sequences. I really enjoy this. For example, when they are talking about their upcoming shopping spree, it's easily identified as scripted TV, but when they go to the store, that's when the mix of reality TV comes into play. To watch Glaser and his buddy shop is hilarious. One of my favorite things that Glaser does, after every piece of equipment that he seems serviceable, he loudly yells, "GEAR!!!!". I think this is so funny.

Before they head out on their camping trip, Glaser goes to his home to tell his wife and kids about the show and all the new stuff he purchased. Well, his wife wants nothing to do with the show. She doesn't want to be on camera and she doesn't want her kids on camera. This bit really reminded me a lot of one of Glaser's older shows, "Delocated". It was very goofy, and everyone's face was covered, except Glaser's. So, after his wife says she will not go with him on this trip, he has a casting call for someone to play his wife. Again, Glaser hits it out of the park with this bit. Go watch it, it is comedy gold.

After he hires an actress, they go on their camping trip. A lot of funny stuff occurs during this trip. Glaser's "wife" is way more into his "spert" than him. This makes Glaser very angry and jealous. He goes so far as to fire his "spert" after some advice from "geari". Who's "geari" you ask? That's what he calls Siri. "Geari" is a lot like Siri, but it only gives gear advice, writes scripts, gains the power to feel and basically runs Glaser's life. When Glaser is in the process of firing his "spert", there is another great bit involving a phone call with Andy Richter. Again, go watch it, you won't be disappointed.

Once the camping trip is over, Glaser gives a run down of how his gear did, and the first episode ends. We were granted with a second episode during the premiere. This one focused on bikes. There are some great scenes where Glaser is harassing a guy that sells night vision goggles. He also gives a guy that works on bikes a hard time. He has another run in with his wife where he thinks she's cheating on him.

You know how I mentioned that "Geari" writes scripts, that comes up in this episode. "Geari" writes a ridiculous script about a bike messenger that has to deliver male seed to keep the world afloat. Glaser goes so far as making a trailer for this movie. This episode was more about the movie than any gear. The gear actually takes a backseat to everything else. That's another thing I really like about this show and Glaser's comedy, it can go anywhere.

Again, do yourselves a favor and go watch the trailer for "Quick Rush", it's so weird and so funny. I highly, highly recommend everyone check out this show. If you're a Jon Glaser fan, you'll love it, but I think people who do not know of Glaser will enjoy it too. The show is weird, goofy, dysfunctional and very funny. I already love "Jon Loves Gear", and I think you will too. "GEAR!!!!!!!!".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Join him and RD for the X Millennial Man Halloween podcast where they discuss the biggest monsters on the internet, the MRAs. Download it for free tomorrow. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.