By LINDSEY WOJCIK

Scene/Mix Editor 

First, he was NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby. Then, he became figure skater Chazz Michaels Michael. Now, Will Ferrell is back as a basketball team’s owner, coach and player Jackie Moon in “Semi-Pro.”

Set to a 1976 backdrop, “Semi-Pro” follows the story of the Michigan Flint Tropics, a team in the ABA basketball league that rivaled the NBA. 

One-hit-wonder Moon fulfills his dreams of owning a basketball team after he buys the Tropics with a fortune he earned from his hit single “Love Me Sexy.” 

The future of the Tropics, one of the ABA’s worst teams, is at risk after Moon learns that the ABA will merge with the NBA at season’s end, with only the top four teams continuing on to the NBA.

Intent on joining the NBA, Moon steps up his game and recruits ex-Boston Celtics player Ed Monix (Woody Harrelson) to team up with the Tropics’ star player Clarence Withers (Andre Benjamin) to vie for a top spot in the ABA.

As the team’s owner, Moon uses outlandish promotional tactics to raise audience attendance. The most memorable of which are when Moon rollerskates down a ramp over the team’s cheerleaders, wrestles a bear and has the Tropics’ players perform a choreographed half-time show.  

The humor is not as crude as other Ferrell movies and the situational comedy is what keeps the audience laughing. 

Moon’s character is not much of a stretch for Ferrell, who has played a number of sports stars, but the nostalgic ‘70s feel of “Semi-Pro” makes it more entertaining than his past performances.  

“Semi-Pro” opens nationwide Feb. 29.