The Replacements | | Cast : | Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Brooke Langton | | Director : | Howard Deutch | | Studio : | Warner Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | August 11, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | February 08, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | May 16, 2005 | | Summary | Loosely based on the NFL strike of 1987... | Content
 | Overall this movie is a pretty fun football movie, it shows how some people in the industry of professional football are jerks, while others really are team players. Overall I thought they did a pretty good job with it...not as dire as Any Given Sunday, but all the same a great flick.
The 1987 National Football League players' strike inspired this sports-themed comedy. The Washington Sentinels are one of the strongest teams in pro football, and coach Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) and quarterback Eddie Martel (Brett Cullen) look like they're on the road to the Super Bowl - until contract negotiations break down and the Sentinels go on strike. Determined to play the team's schedule, McGinty and owner Edward O'Neil (Jack Warden) recruit a ragtag band of scab players, headed by quarterback Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves), a promising athlete until a catastrophic defeat dashed his confidence.
Joining Falco on the team are Clifford Franklin (Orlando Jones), a receiver who can't catch the ball; Nigel Gruff (Rhys Ifans), a chain-smoking Welsh soccer player; Bateman (Jon Favreau), a former cop with anger management problems; Fumiko (Ace Yonamine), a sumo wrestler new to football; and Wilkinson (Michael Jace), a convict on parole to the Sentinels. Can McGinty mold his new squad of misfits and no-hopers (who truly love the game) into a winning team? Brooke Langton plays Annabelle, head of the Sentinels' cheerleading squad (who has to contend with replacements of her own), and football commentators John Madden and Pat Summerall appear as themselves.
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| Rating | | | Date | May 11, 2005 | | Summary | Score one for the Good Guys | Content
| The Replacements is a film that sets out to tell a simple story devoid of lofty goals or pretense. Director Howard Deutch and writer Vince McKewin do just that. This film features a silly slapstick, broadly drawn set of characters who are believably played by a very talented cast.
The legendary Gene Hackman plays straight man to Orlando jones, Fraizon Love, Jon Favreau , personal favorite Rhys Ifans ( of " Notting Hill " fame ) and many other wonderful performers.
The plot is simple enough. A group of former college players ( and a former English football star with a serious gambling problem ) and at least one convict are assembled in a desperate attempt to keep the the Washington Sentinels on the field in the face of a players strike. Hackman is brought on board by that living acting institution Jack Warden, to take this assemblage of unheard of misfits and mold them into a viable professional team. What proceeds from that point is pretty much what one would expect, which is just fine with me. The casting is perfect. The lesser known actors, whether they play football players or exotic dancers turned cheerleaders are dead on perfect in their roles. I particularly enjoyed Keanu Reeves's on screen chemistry with the lovely and charming Brooke Langton.
But of course, the signature scene of this film is where the Replacement players sign and dance to the disco era classic " I Will Survive " while behind bars for a fight they has against the Sentinel's regular players. It's both funny and very well embodies this film's theme.
The Replacements may not be a shining example of great cinema, but it's a great deal of fun. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 29, 2005 | | Summary | Football's the one with the pointy ball, right? | Content
| For the record, I don't know a lot about football. I was one of those guys who figured that football was for those poor souls who couldn't make it in the band. I am not qualified to pass judgement on how good the football sequences in this movie. I AM QUALIFIED, however to pass judgement on what entertains me. This movie qualifies.
The situation is an NFL strike. Some scab players are hired to play in the pros in the place of the "real players". Against all the odds, they do well. That pretty well sums it up and it follows, I think, all of the standard cliches. That is not what the movie is about, though. It is about laughs and it is about heart. This movie has both.
This is not going to go down as one of the great comedies of all time. It does, however, have its moments. Some of the laughs are just chuckles and a few are great big belly laughs. I think the sumo wrestler qualifies for the latter.
The movie also has heart. The guys on the team do their best. When faced with a choice between an all-pro prima donna and "their guy", they make the right choice. They do their best and they triumph. Maybe football isn't as wimpy as I thought.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 09, 2005 | | Summary | I WILL SURVIVE | Content
| THE REPLACEMENTS has one of the most original and delightful scenes when the scab players get in a bar brawl and end up in jail. Orlando Jones (in a funny performance) starts singing "I Will Surive" and we end up with these macho guys singing along and dancing in the holding room. It blew me away with its freshness. Add to this the addition of prostitutes as sexually charged cheerleaders and this gives THE REPLACEMENTS the honor of being one of the freshest and funniest sports movies ever made. In a world where overpaid athletes worry more about their salaries and endorsements than their fans, THE REPLACEMENTS gives us a bunch of misfits who have the heart and talent, even if they are a little rough around the edges. Director Howard Deutch keeps the action crisp and exciting, and even in using the expected cliches, he gives us a movie that provides much entertainment. Keanu Reeves uses his acting chops very well for a change; his dismissive and laconic personality adds to his charm as he realizes he is the heart behind the team. Gene Hackman takes his cliche role and elevates it to his usual standard of excellence, and the cast of football players is superb: David Denman as the deaf mute; Brett Cullen as the arrogant striking quarterback; Jones; Rhys Ifans in his role as the superkicker; and so on. Jon Favreau is brilliant as the somewhat demented SWAT team member, who comes on like a charging bull. Brooke Langton as the head cheerleader and Keanu's love interest is also effective. The football action is fast and furious, and the team's devotion to each other carries the ball for the movie. I am not the greatest fan of sports movies, but THE REPLACEMENTS is one of the best. Enjoy!!! |
| Rating | | | Date | March 24, 2005 | | Summary | Love it, love it, love it!! | Content
| This movie is integrated with sport, love, job passion, life and team building. Even though it looks so simple of the basic concept in the spots, I love the spirits the characters leading us. I feel the passion to win the game. I am so wanting the cheif to get the love. In this complicated society, it's hard to see such a lovely movie. I just love it! |
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