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THE
REPLACEMENTS review by Joseph B. Mauceri
REVIEW: Okay ñ so the film has some stars and a funny bunch of characters. As always, the bug question is, is it any good? The answer ñ absolutely. THE REPLACEMENTS is that rare Hollywood animal, the comedy with a point. Football is only the backdrop. Like "The Bad News Bears," "The Dirty Dozen," "Rocky," and many others, the story is about an extraordinary event giving ordinary folks a chance to shine. It does this with stunning ease and a surprisingly deft sense of comedy will please audiences across the country. The first reason: Gene Hackman does his job for once. In many recent pictures Hackman seemed half-asleep. Not here. This is his best performance since "Hoosiers." Maybe he's just got a thing for playing coaches with something to prove. Hackman fans will not be disappointed. The second reason: THE REPLACEMENTS is about more than sports jokes. Unlike many lesser pictures, the story rules here and not the comedy. The plot never ceases to make sense simply so a cheap shot can be thrown in. The film presents the stories of a dozen characters, intertwines them, makes you care about the people, and resolves them all without taking away their dignity. Third: good, old fashioned values. The quarterback and the cheerleader are in love. The film's sex quota is delivered by the cheerleading squad's suggestive routines on the field. There's plenty of skin and lewd behavior for the boys in the audience. For the men and women, the main love story is handled as if it were the 1930s. Sure, you know what happens when the door closes, but nobody felt it necessary to hit the audience over the head with it. The same goes for the language. It's blue, but not terribly. The violence is no worse than one would see in a regular football game. This is a picture for, if not the whole family, certainly a large portion of it. It's also wildly funny, extremely well directed and deftly edited. The story-telling is excellent throughout, mood being dictated as often by the look in a character's eyes as often as it is by the soundtrack. On top of that, where else can you see a group of giant-sized men line-dancing in prison? As far as comedies go this summer, it's been slim-pickings. And, if you're looking for thinking comedies, the first one this year was "Chicken Run." This is the second. Since there's no guarantee there'll be another, I'd go to this one if I were you. OFFICIAL
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SYNOPSIS:
It's late in the season, and the professional football players are
on strike. The Washington Sentinels, owned by Ed O'Neil (Warden),
could make the playoffs (something they haven't done in seven years)
if they win three of the four remaining games. O'Neil hires legendary
coach Jimmy McGinty (Hackman), a man he once fired, to recruit a
team of replacement players ñ in one week. McGinty keeps a file
of players stuck outside the pros ñ guys who can play great ball
but who, for one reason or another, never got their break. Here
is their collective last opportunity at a big break. McGinty puts
together a wild team. They're lead by quarterback Shane Falco (Reeves),
a star college player disappeared from sight after letting his team
down during their Sugar Bowl appearance. There's also a super-fast
runner who can't catch (Orlando Jones), a psychotically zealous
SWAT cop (Jon Favreau), a gambling, chain-smoking Welsh soccer star
(Rhys Ifans), along with a convict, a sumo wrestler and plenty of
others.