Can gold
tarnish? I don’t think so, which is why
I hesitate to designate this movie, The
Replacements, as my Golden Oldie 12.
But I watched it last night, so what the hell.
The Replacements came out in 2000 to the unanimous
disapproval of the critics, who for once were more or less right. It stars Keanu Reeves (competent, but given
to long looks of passive boredom), Gene Hackman (excellent, as always) and some
reasonably competent minor players – especially what looks like a bunch of
ladies who would do honor to any strip joint in the world. I refer, of course, to the cheerleader
squad. There is a guy, Rhys Ifans, cast
as a crazy Welshman, whom I have encountered in several movies subsequently –
he is always a plus. I laughed a lot
when I first saw this movie, but last night I was a bit bored.
The plot,
such as it is, revolves around a strike by NFL football players (which did occur),
and a rather comic effort to continue the season, using large, violent, but
relatively unskilled substitutes.
Reeves, however, is cast as a highly skilled, and undervalued quarterback
with mental demons coursing through his head.
As you might expect, the movie is a feel-gooder, and as such probably
worth watching. Just don’t expect Casablanca.
Of course,
there is the cheerleader squad. C
No comments:
Post a Comment