Plot
Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the American Basketball Association's Flint Michigan Tropics, rallies his teammates to make their NBA dreams come true
Release Year: 2008
Rating: 5.6/10 (34,450 voted)
Critic's Score: 47/100
Director:
Kent Alterman
Stars: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin
Storyline Three men, three dreams. It's 1976 in Flint, Michigan. Jackie Moon's American Basketball Association team languishes in last place, with few fans in the seats. Jackie dreams of a merger with the NBA. A tough-minded point guard named Monix is at the end of his career; he's played on the champion Celtics but accepts a trade to Flint to be close to Lynn, the love of his life. Clarence "Coffee" Brown dreams of stardom: he's the Tropics' best player, but he's a hotdog who doesn't value teamwork. When the trio learns that a merger is in the works that won't include the Tropics, they pull the team together to try to achieve the impossible. Can dreams come true in Flint?
Cast: Will Ferrell
-
Jackie Moon
Woody Harrelson
-
Monix
André Benjamin
-
Clarence
Maura Tierney
-
Lynn
Andrew Daly
-
Dick Pepperfield
Will Arnett
-
Lou Redwood
Andy Richter
-
Bobby Dee
David Koechner
-
Commissioner
Rob Corddry
-
Kyle
Matt Walsh
-
Father Pat the Ref
Jackie Earle Haley
-
Dukes
DeRay Davis
-
Bee Bee Ellis
Josh Braaten
-
Twiggy Munson
Jay Phillips
-
Scootsie Double Day
Peter Cornell
-
Vakidis
Opening Weekend: $15,075,114
(USA)
(2 March 2008)
(3121 Screens)
Gross: $33,472,850
(USA)
(27 April 2008)
Technical Specs
Runtime:|
(unrated DVD version)
|
(unrated version)
Did You Know?
Trivia:
The narrator for the Shasta Apple soda commercial is Tom Bosley of
Happy Days fame. We see the commercial during the on court brawl.
Goofs:
Factual errors:
The San Antonio Spurs are portrayed as the best team in the league finishing in first place. During the 1975-76 ABA Season when the movie took place, the Spurs finished third in the standings. When the regular season ended that year, the best record in the league belonged to the Denver Nuggets.
Quotes: Monix:
Vakidis, open the window will ya? Vakidis:
Yes, right on!
[does nothing]
Monix:
Did you give Bobby Dee a handjob? Vakidis:
Yes, right on!
User Review
Needs more Doctor J
Rating: 7/10
One of the joys of being a university student is getting invited to
free sneak previews. I went to one last night, where the front half of
the theater was packed with students while the back was filled with
members of the writing team, taking careful notes on which jokes we did
and did not laugh at. For the most part, the reaction was positive, and
the jokes that failed miserably will probably get edited out by the
time the movie officially opens.
The movie was pretty sports-comedy formulaic, with the down-and-out
lovable losers getting a big chance, then introducing a new character
who will inspire them, and a few montages later, the big finale. The
R-rating was used mainly on adding in lots of cuss-words, with mixed
humorous results. There was a really funny joke about masturbation. I
was hoping for a little more basketball craziness, but oh well.
The highlight, of course, was Will Ferrel meeting the 70s. I myself was
not alive in the 70s, so I only know about the culture through the
disco-funk lens of caricature cinema. Ferrel is one funky mofo so he
thrives. I would say this was one of his better efforts, topping
Taladega nights, Elf, and the ice skating one. It's not as good as
Anchorman, mainly because it's just not as quotable.
In short, if you like Will Ferrel, or 70s funk (the soundtrack is hella
dope), see this movie.
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