The Replacements (2000) 1 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Orlando Jones, Jon Favreau, Brooke Langton and Rhys Ifans. Written by Vince McKewin. Directed by Howard Deutch. Rated PG-13.
"The Replacements" is a difficult movie to dislike because its theme is one close to the hearts of all of us: Fulfilling a dream, getting a second chance.
And tackling that theme hard and clean would have made for a very fine feature.
Instead, the brains behind "The Replacements" fumbled the ball, giving us a mish-mash of comedy, male bonding, class strife and cheerleaders.
The trouble with "The Replacements" is that you have mixed feelings for these players. On one hand they're scabs. Of course the athletes they are replacing are spoiled, overpaid dolts who complain that once they give their commissions to their lawyers and agents or make the monthly payment on their souped-up sports car, there's hardly anything left to live on.
But on the other hand, these replacement players are guys looking for that elusive moment of glory, which is something we all can identify with.
So, from the outset your emotions are torn, which makes it difficult to wholly root for former college quarterback standout Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves) and his new teammates, thrown together by newly hired coach Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman).
Why the owner of the Washington Sentinels was forced to hire a new coach just because his players went on strike is never really explained. And that is one of the movie's many oversights and distractions.
One of the others are the players who comprise Falco's teammates. They are not really individuals, they are archetypes: a psycho SWAT team member; a mini-market janitor with great speed and bad hands; two big, black brothers who are former rock-star bodyguards; an ex-sumo wrestler; a deaf athlete; and a Bible spouting wide receiver.
All are played for comic relief and all are very cartoonish in character. The idea that they can jell as a team within a week is ludicrous and totally unbelievable.
Nor does Vince McKewin's script do Reeves any favors. You never get a clear focus on his character. He lacks that special spark that a successful quarterback must have to lead and inspire. He's too laid back, too quiet, too Keanu.
And director Howard Deutch doesn't help matters much, wasting a lot of footage showing fan reactions as well as the Sentinel cheerleaders gyrating through their monotonous routines.
I suspect Deutch was trying to pull a cinematic end run by shifting attention from his weak script.
What "The Replacements" needed was someone to intercept the script somewhere between the time it was greenlighted and filming began. Unfortunately, someone dropped the ball on this one.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier. in Lafayette, IN He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net Reviews by Bloom can be found on the Internet Movie Database at: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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