"Semi-Pro" **1/2 (out of four): There's an honest-to-goodness sports movie trying to emerge in this typically goofy Will Ferrell comedy. Too bad it didn't try a little harder.

In the early 70s, the NBA existed in tandem with its more flamboyant cousin, the American Basketball Association (ABA). The ABA, with teams both familiar (the New York Nets, the San Antonio Spurs) and not so much (the Virginia Squires, anyone?), was characterized by a flashier style of play and slightly different rules (including the three-point shot). In 1976, four ABA teams, including the Nets and the Spurs, merged into the NBA while the remainder of the ABA teams were dissolved. "Semi-Pro", a typically goofy Will Ferrell comedy, isn't the story of one of those teams. But it's close. In fact, somewhere beneath the pratfalls, the puke jokes and the bear wrestling, there's an honest-to-goodness sports movie trying to emerge. It's a shame it didn't try a little harder. As it is right now, "Semi-Pro" exists uneasily between screwball comedy and polite tribute.

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