R E V I E W S

Replacements, The (2000)

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Jack Warden, Brooke Langston
Director: Howard Deutsch
Rating: PG-13

Studio: Warner Bros.

Review Posted: 8.11.00

Rating: 4/5

By Paul Perkins.

One of the biggest problems in the workforce is the payment. some are making too much and some are making too less. Sometimes when workers don't get heard by their bosses about getting a raise they go on strike. All employers get affected by a strike, including sports. So when a strike happens, sometimes they call replacement worker to fill the striking employees' spots. As is the case in this movie, called The Replacements.

It's late in the season; the playoffs are fast approaching; and the Washington Sentinels have just gone on strike. Scrambling for a solution, the Sentinels' owner Edward O'Neil (Jack Warden) hatches a plan to bring in legendary coach Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) to recruit a team of replacement players in exactly one week.

For fans and owners alike, the strike is a disaster. But for Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves) and a mismatched crew of outsiders, it is the second chance they've waited their whole lives for.

Also recruited to play are butter-fingered sprinter Clifford Franklin (Orlando Jones); over-zealous L.A. cop Daniel Bateman (Jon Favreau); Welsh star kicker and chain-smoker Nigel "the Leg" Gruff (Rhys Ifans); Earl Wilkinson (Michael Jace), who is already a guest of the state of Maryland . In their penitentiary; born-again Christian Walter Cochran (Troy Winbush); music industry bodyguards Andre and Jamal Jackson (Michael "Bear" Taliferro and Faizon Love); young, talented and deaf player Brian Murphy (David Denman); and Jumbo Fumiko (Ace Yonamine), a huge Japanese sumo wrestler and the new team's secret weapon.

These underdogs are not exactly pro football's finest. But their passionate love for the game and trust in each other will bring something back to football that it has missed for a long time - heart.

I am not a sports fan, but after watching a couple of sports movies, like The Replacements, Mystery Alaska and Any Given Sunday, I'm beginning to like sports. This was one funny movie. It had everything a sports person would love: a couple of good football moves and games.

I know nothing about the calls and plays in a football game, but guess what? You don't have to know the plays to enjoy this movie. While I was watching this film I was surprised how Keanu did a great job of playing a quarterback, but I think Jamie Foxx did a better job in Any Given Sunday.

I was also surprised how the whole cast was perfect. The director did a fine job of casting the actors with the right part. I have seen this film 3 times and I still enjoy it. Football fans told me that I know nothing about the game. That some of the stuff in the film is all wrong. But hey, this is a football comedy. Not a football drama, like Any Given Sunday was.

The commentary by John Madden and Pat Summerall was very funny, and different from what they usually do, but should be enjoyed by moviegoers. The rest of the cast was very funny and should get a big laugh from the audience. Overall, The Replacements was a very funny movie and the football scenes were good. It's worth the price of the admission.

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