CCC Reviews
The Replacements
Reviewed By: Slacker~DNA~
Football...classic cinema material. With 1999's football drama/comedy, Varsity
Blues and this October's Remember the Titans all the way to Rudy,
football has been an excellent choice to show the great ways to make ordinary
humans look heroic. All have made great use of camera motions, especially the
low camera to make our favorite quarterback look bigger. The Replacements
followed this to a point, the football players weren't the spectacle that they
were in the other films.
The Replacements, is a cute comedy about a group of struggling athletes
who get a chance to play in the NFL when the entire Washington football team
goes on strike. A old former coach, Jimmy McGinty, played by Gene Hackman, is
hired to form a team to replace the Washington starting squad. He hires many
former football players and some people who just fit the position well.
Shane Falco, played by Keanu Reeves (The Matrix), is a washed up
quarterback who was famous for loosing his college Sugar Bowl by 45 points.
Danial Bateman, played by Jon Favreau (P.C.U.), is a former linebacker
and ex-S.W.A.T. team member, with a major anger control problem. Orlando Jones
(The 7-Up guy) plays Clifford Franklin, a store clerk who runs faster than
anybody in the league, he plays wide receiver but can't catch. The kicker Nigel
Gruff, played by Rhys Ifans, is a skinny chain-smoking Welsh soccer player.
Running back Walter Cochran, is a preacher who used to play in the NFL until a
leg injury & special teams reciever Brian Murphy is a ex-convict released
from prison to play football.
Rounding up the offensive line are a very entertaining group of large men. The
first two are brothers and they play the offensive guards, Andre (Michael
Taliferro) & Jamal (Faizon Love) Jackson. They are ex-bouncers who's job is
to protect Falco no matter the situations, even if it involves pulling out a 9mm
Glock 20. The center is a former sumo wrestler from Japan. Jumbo Fumiko, played
by Hawaii boy Ace Yonamine, is a sincere, hungry and entertaining character.
It's a cute little football movie, so there has to be a love interest, Annabelle
Farrell (Brooke Langton) is the only remaining Washington cheerleader. She is
forced to resort to hiring strippers as the replacement cheerleaders...you can
only imagine what happens with this. Anyways, Falco immediately falls for her,
even though she doesn't date players, especially quarterbacks.
Although extremely predictable and slightly shallow in plot, the movie is very
cute and you'll find yourself laughing at every little quirk. I recommend this
movie highly, not because it's good cinema like Rudy, but it is very
entertaining. Isn't that enough?Scores for The Replacement
Slacker~DNA~ -- 
-- "Classic humor, not cinema."
Feather7177 -- -- "Pretty funny."
Kay-Z -- -- "Hahahahaha."
GrannyDani -- -- "Nan desu ka!!!"
Cast
Shane Falco - Keanu Reeves
Jimmy McGinty - Gene Hackman
Annabelle Farrell - Brooke Langton
Clifford Franklin - Orlando Jones
Daniel Bateman - Jon Favreau
Nigel Gruff - Rhys Ifans
Walter Cochran - Troy Winbush
Andre Jackson - Michael Taliferro
Jamal Jackson - Faizon Love
Jumbo Fumiko - Ace Yonamine
Brian Murphy - David Denman
Carl Wilkinson - Michael Jace
Heather - Caroline Keenan
Eddie Martel - Brett Cullen
John Madden - Himself
Pat Summerall - Himself
Crew
Director - Howard Deutch
Writer - Vince McKewin
Producer - Dylan Sellers
Associate Producer - Elena Spiotta
Executive Producer - Jeffrey Chernov
Executive Producer - Steven Reuther
Executive Producer - Eriwin Stoff
Original Score - John Debney
Cinematography - Tak Fujimoto
Film Editing - Seth Flaum
Film Editing - Bud S. Smith (ACE)
Casting - Mary Gail Artz
Casting - Barbara Cohen
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