Semi-Pro

Semi-Pro has quietly become one of the more dependable comedies currently available in Australia on ABC iview, and in the US on Starz Apple TV Channel. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. Its 6/10 TMDB score, built from 892 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Will Ferrell leads a cast with real comic timing. Start it on ABC iview whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Semi-Pro earns its spot. Semi-Pro gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. Jackie Moon is the owner, promoter, coach, and star player of the Flint Michigan Tropics of the American Basketball Association (ABA), the worst team in the league. In 1976 before the ABA collapses, the NBA plans to merge with the best teams of the ABA at the end of the season. Only the top four teams will make the move and the worst teams will fold. Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2008. Semi-Pro earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Semi-Pro is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Will Ferrell's comic timing carries it through its weaker moments. The kind of comedy you recommend to someone who claims they do not watch much.