The Replacements Review
by David N. Butterworth (dnb AT dca DOT net)November 16th, 2001
THE REPLACEMENTS
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2001 David N. Butterworth
**1/2 (out of ****)
I could have sworn I remember seeing Keanu Reeves running around in a football helmet before, but I couldn't find the likely film in his filmography. Likewise, I could have sworn I remember seeing Gene Hackman coaching a bunch of inept football players before, but I couldn't find the likely film in his filmography either (I must have been thinking of "Hoosiers").
But that's just the thing about "The Replacements." It *feels* as though you've seen it, or something like it, before. Even the title reeks of deja-vu. "The Replacements." I must have been thinking of "The Replacement Killers." Picture Chow Yun-Fat as a wide receiver. "Huht! Huht! Huht!" "Blam! Blam! Blam!"
Anyway, "The Replacements" is a gridiron comedy about the 1987 professional football player's strike from the pen of Vince McKewin, the guy who wrote that goose movie with Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin. It's directed by Howard Deutch, the guy responsible for a couple of early John Hughes coming-of-age pictures ("Pretty in Pink," "Some Kind of Wonderful") and an episode or two of "Caroline in the City," so its credentials don't exactly inspire confidence.
Wanna bet John Madden shows up somewhere? He does.
"The Replacements" is the kind of film actors like to make when they've just come off something grueling like "The Perfect Storm" or a Stanley Kubrick shoot. They don't have to think too much, they don't have to stretch themselves too much--just read the lines, snarl to the camera, and pick up their paycheck. Both Reeves and Hackman are playing characters they've played a zillion times before. Keanu is the hot-headed pretty boy--he's a scab filling in for the striking quarterback--and Gene is the tough-as-nails coach who's going to show these pros a thing or two. How seismically original.
As the film's tagline says: "Throw the ball. Catch the girl. Keep it simple." Keep it simple indeed. The girl that Keanu's character is supposed to catch is played by Brooke Langton whose "notable TV guest appearances" have been on "Baywatch," "Beverly Hills 90210," and "Melrose Place"--the less said about that the better.
But guess what? For all of its predictable situations on the ten-yard line, in the end zone, and in the locker room, "The Replacements" is a totally infectious piece of entertainment.
Reeves and Hackman are extremely comfortable in their roles as you'd expect, and the supporting cast of misfits and weirdos (including Welsh mining disaster Rhys Ifans and the big-eyed Orlando Jones) give the film a well rounded sense of appeal. Langton is actually pretty good here--it seems she's capable of more than soapy walk-ons--and John Madden (who commentates in typical Madden style alongside a withering Pat Summerall) gets some of the film's best lines.
Some might argue that we've barely recovered from the in-your-face gridiron sequences of "Any Given Sunday" to have to experience more of the same so soon (even if "Any Given Sunday" might actually be the funnier movie). But "The Replacements" proves once again that the sport of American football--and the Monday night passions it arouses--lends itself particularly well to the big screen.
Throw the pigskin. Date the cheerleader. Keep it entertaining. And "The Replacements" certainly does that. It's funny and exciting, sexy and confrontational. It's not a work of art but then again neither is a burger and fries. But sometimes a burger and fries just hits the spot.
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David N. Butterworth
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
