It’s certainly not award-worthy cinema but it did make me laugh.
Typically, sports comedies are extremely formulaic. You usually have a band of lovable losers trying to gel as a team to overcome seemingly overwhelming odds. It’s a reliable formula that appeals to those of us who like to cheer for the underdog. It also provides plenty of opportunities to put the protagonists in situations that can be mined for laughs. That formula sums up 2000’s The Replacements quite accurately.
When a football players’ strike threatens to end the season early for his Washington Sentinels, team owner Edward O’Neil (Jack Warden) hires veteran coach Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) to assemble a team of replacement players. McGinty accepts the job on the condition that he can recruit whoever he sees fit to play with no interference from ownership. O’Neil reluctantly agrees.
McGinty brings in a ragtag group of players including Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves,) a former college quarterback who’s only remembered for choking in the Sugar Bowl. Other additions include a maniac ex-cop, a speedy receiver with questionable catching skills, and a kicker from Wales with a gambling problem.
If the Sentinels can win three of their last four games, they’ll make it to the playoffs for the first time in decades. Of course, they’ll have to gel as a team and overcome the odds to make that happen.
The football sequences are punctuated with commentary by the legendary duo of John Madden and Pat Summerall. Their reactions to the on-field shenanigans are just as funny as what happens on the gridiron. None of the over-the-top football action is especially believable, especially with today’s rules regarding player safety. But I’m totally aware that’s not the point. People taking big hits has been on-screen comedy gold since the days of silent films.
Keanu Reeves and his band of scrappy teammates are all likable enough. There’s precious little in the way of actual drama or conflict facing the team. The striking players, led by Eddie Martel (Brett Cullen,) make for decent villains (for lack of a better term,) but they’re never really a threat. The script throws in a little dramatic twist towards the end but it’s overcome in a predictable fashion. There’s romantic tension involving cheerleader Annabelle (Brooke Langton) and Falco but there’s never a doubt they’ll get together eventually.
And, yet, as predictable as it is, I liked The Replacements. It’s brainless entertainment that I’d file in the guilty pleasure category. It’s certainly not award-worthy cinema but it did make me laugh.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
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