IMDB Rating: 6.10, 11774 votes |
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A comedy based on the 1987 professional football players' strike. Gene Hackman plays the coach of the team, Jack Warden is the owner, Brett Cullen is the All-Pro quarterback that goes on strike and Keanu Reeves is the "scab" who replaces the star QB.Actors
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18 Comments
Everything you would expect it to be. Plus a hot chick.
pretty good ’sports’ movie
Keanu sucks and there are few funny parts.
Funny acting and pretty cool
A pretty funny rental.
Actually pretty good…
Gene Hackman was in Hoosiers, one of the better (if not the best) sports films of all time. Jon Favreau was the affable D-Bob in Rudy, another great sports film. And Orlando Jones is in those new 7-Up ads. What it all adds up to is a light, fun comedy that realizes summer films don’t need to be intellectual, but if they are dumb, they can at least be VERY dumb.
I mentioned Hoosiers and Rudy above, and let me clarify that The Replacements is nowhere near the caliber of those two great films. Quite simply, The Replacements is a fun film that will elicit some laughs and let you leave the theatre smiling. You won’t be telling your grandkids about it in forty years, but you will have fun for the 110 minutes that you are watching it for.
Keanu Reeves has been working his butt off in this post-Matrix year, and many people may be interested in The Replacements for Neo’s — er, Keanu’s — lead role. If that’s the case, please do not go. You’ll only disappoint yourself. Reeves serves only as a constant reminder that this is a football film, and when this films tries to get inspirational and serious (gasp!), we get a shot of a "determined" Reeves and his windswept long hair.
Speaking of those shots, the odds are 2:1 that the windswept shot — or any shot for that matter — will be followed by a shot of cheerleaders doing everything imaginable, except cheering. The concept was funny for the first ten minutes that it happened, but it gets really old. The one problem I kept thinking of was this: if it is the football players on strike, WHY are the cheerleaders striking as well? In a bit of comic "genius" (sarcasm, if you didn’t catch it), lead cheerleader Annabelle (Brooke Langton) is forced to recruit lap dancers for her cheerleading squad. Um, ha ha. In one scene, we see Hackman yelling, a receiver sprinting down the sideline, Reeves bombing the ball down field…and then a shot of the cheerleaders slapping each other. I wish I was kidding, but it is all true. And if you just said "What’s wrong with that?" with a stupid grin on your face (read: Klinger) you’ll love this film. In fact, you can stop reading this review right now.
The Replacements is a fun ride for the first 90 minutes, but as the film winds down into its generic, feel-good ending, the film falls flat on its face. Reeves is not my idea of a leading inspirational figure, unless it is in The Matrix, and his role is so shallow that not even good writing can save him. So instead of seeing a group of funny, friendly football players that we love, we see a bunch of funny bit players with Reeves trying to rally them together. It isn’t a major problem, and I still had fun despite of it, but it could have made a big difference.
Speaking of those bit players, let me rattle them off for you. The best of the bunch has to be the energetic Orlando Jones who can make the lowest of jokes (including vomit) seem funny. Jones is everywhere in this film, and his presence is like a burst of light on the screen. Seeing him shuffle around a jail cell singing "I Will Survive" isn’t memorable, but his enthusiasm for it should bring a smile to anyone’s face.
Jon Favreau plays Patrick Bateman, an absolute nut who rocks anyone who comes into his vision. I didn’t expect him to be funny, but he comes through in certain situations. His character is just so "out there" that you have to laugh.
Rhys Ifans, who you have probably last seen in his underwear in Notting Hill, plays a smoking and drinking Welsh kicker. Rhys continues the trend of "enthusiasm" as his character can only be classified as "different." Ifans has the same "brightness" of Jones, and his wildness picks up a less than average script.
If you’ve been reading the review carefully (and even if you haven’t), you’ll notice I keep saying "enthusiasm." That’s exactly what The Replacements is. You know the material isn’t groundbreaking, but you can’t help but smile. Keanu Reeves puts in a poor performance because of his always-somber attitude. He doesn’t need to do only Matrix films, but doing a film with a bunch of scene-stealers wasn’t the best choice. Now, the important question: How about Orlando Jones as Neo?
Very entertaining.
This movie is well worth the 7 dollars.
Keanu Reeves turns in a good performance in The Replacements as a washed up quarterback given a second chance at fame. This is a must see movie. do not miss it.
yes i’m late, but i’m glad i saw it
this was a cool movie. that’s about it. it’s not gonna win awards. it’s not gonna touch you deep in the cockles of your heart. it’s not gonna make you change your life for the better.
it will though, make you laugh and leave you smilin’.
the only really bad thing i have to say about this movie, is that i took so damn long getting my ass to the theater. should have seen it on opening weekend.
oh well. i suck.
You laugh, then you laugh harder….it’s a rad movie…go see it
Nothing new, but it still worked quite well.
I admit, I enjoyed this movie in much of its over the top cheesyness. If you don’t like football movies, this isn’t going to be the one to sway your opinion. But if you’re ambivalent (ooooh, big word) about movie like this, I don’t think you will mind the comedy.
Other than that, the story is your typical underdogs come from behind victory formula flick. It’s been done before and there isn’t anything really innovative, but hell, it was still an entertaining two hours. Take some buddies and have a laughing good Time.
Using a formula, this movie executes very very well
Okay, so the movie was formulaic. Strictly formulaic. So formulaic that you could pretty much predict the entire plot as you went.
So what?
The formula was executed very well, the characters (with a few exceptions) were likeable or hate-able, according to the formula; the plot was enjoyable and well done; overall, the movie was enjoyable.
Keanu Reeves was fine as a quarterback - you could tell he was trying to be subdued in his role. Pretty much all of the actors did a good job.
If you can see it for free - definitely go.
If you have to pay a quarter - definitely
If you have to pay full price - Go for it
Cute with some laughs. Had people cheering in the theater.
Good fun!
The Replacements is a fun and entertaining movie about the recruitment of a replacement team for professional football. They are one of a kind and must learn to stick together through thick and thin in order to win their respect.
Reeves is Falco, a burned out quarterback who would much rather spend time on his broken-down boat and dive to the depths of the ocean. He is in fact a simple man with the inner workings of a professional.
Falco is recruited amongst others to replace the team that has since gone on strike. The Replacements are a group of guys that bring uniqueness and unity, men with heart instead of greed. They are men with dysfunctionality, but with spirit.
Together they must fight their way to success and learn to collaborate. Falco is their leader and their mentor, the man they all see as their goal-setter. While this may be true, he is also pursuing the interests of a nearby cheerleader who sees his true colors, that of a man with heart.
The Replacements is pure fun! Go in with a straight face and come out with a smile, guaranteed!
Superbowl of comedic sports movies!
I was completely surprised and enthusiastically happy to find this movie this well done, and so funny. In many ways, this movie is similar to the baseball movie "Major League" with Tom Berringer and the the college football movie "Unnecessary Roughness" with Scott Bakula, but it is so much better. Keanu Reeves is perfect as the ex-quarterback with an inferiority complex. Gene Hackman…as usual…is wonderful in the role of replacement coach. The humor is unusual in that it isn’t anything new…but done with a twist it comes across wonderfully.
5 weeks, 4 games. Shortlived Professional football players. But they do it so well that you don’t mind that these out of shape players are taking on trained athletes and winning.
Noone will be disappointed in this film. If you are, you don’t have a funnybone!!
Decent movie with a few funny scenes
). It was entertaining and had a good ending, but I guess I had expected more going into the movie.
This movie kind of pulled me in 2 different directions. In one way, I was laughing at the scenes during the plays of the games, but in another way, I had pretty much seen them before in other movies. For instance, the scene where the same guy blitzes Reeves twice in a row and the action Reeves took reminds me of a scene in The Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds (for those of you old enough to remember
I like sports movies that aren’t afraid to be vulgar.
Nothing special or surprising in this flick, but then that’s not what I wanted from it.
I wanted, and happily enjoyed, a Comfort Food sports movie along the lines of Major League. You instantly like all the good guys and instantly hate all the bad guys. Everything happens as it should, the good guys do some funny things, Keanu doesn’t do much (thank god), and the love interest (Brooke Langton) is freakin’ GORGEOUS.
Plus, I’ll give bonus points to any flick that gives a role to someone who used to be on Mad TV (Orlando Jones).
Funniest football movie since Wildcats!
This is a quick, fun romp through the lives of football replacement players over a 4-week span. Its not the best script in the world, but its a damn funny movie. Definitely recommended!