The Replacements (2000)
The players of professional football go on strike with four weeks to go in the season and the owners decide to call in replacement players to finish out the year. Gene Hackman plays the coach of one of the teams, and he assembles a ragtag group, including a washed up superstar college QB (Reeves), an ex-con RB (Jace), and a bunch of others who have lots of raw talent but not the ability to have made it pro. They have to win three of the next four games to make it to the playoffs.
The Replacements is a predictable comedy with little new to offer, but I do have a bit of a soft spot for these kinds of eccentric ensemble sports movies (Major League comes to mind). It’s always fun to watch, even if it isn’t what one might call great, and it’s definitely entertaining enough for football fans who aren’t looking for anything other than some fun escapism.
The cast is like able, with Hackman and Jack Warden giving relatively good performances despite some occasionally trite dialogue. Keanu Reeves and Orlando Jones aren’t as annoying as you’d expect since they don’t dominate screen time. Terrific cinematography by Tak Fujimoto and a great score by John Debney, along with solid use of popular music all enhance the look and feel of real football. Cartoonish and hokey, but likable all the same.
Qwipster’s rating: B
MPAA Rated: PG-13 for some crude sexual humor and language
Running Time: 118 min.
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Brooke Langton, Orlando Jones, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Rhys Ifans, Michael ‘Bear” Taliferro, Ace Yonamine, Troy Winbush, Michael Jace, David Denman, Keith David, Jack Warden, John Madden, Pat Summerall
Director: Howard Deutch
Screenplay: Vince McKewin