By J.E.
I generally like Adam Sandler comedies because they are simple, straightforward stories that are almost always entertaining. Sure, there have been a couple of misfires along the way (I didn’t think Chuck and Larry was very good), but for the most part, I get what I expect from Sandler.
I somehow missed The Longest Yard, a remake of the 1974 Burt Reynolds film, when it was in theaters, and then didn’t get around to renting it until just last weekend. I never saw the original, so can’t make comparisons between the two movies, but I thought this version was decent on its own.
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Sandler stars as Paul Crewe, a washed-up former NFL MVP who was banned from the league because of a points-shaving scandal. Crewe steadfastly maintained his innocence, and there wasn’t enough evidence to indict him. However, his reputation with the fans was ruined. All he does now is drink beer and let Lena (Courteney Cox), his rich bitch of a girlfriend, boss him around.
One night after getting into a fight with Lena, Crewe takes off in her Bentley, with a six-pack of beer in hand. Lena reports her car stolen, and it’s not long before Crewe gets pulled over. For some reason, instead of letting the cops take him in, he decides to lead them on a high-speed chase through the city. Crewe ends up crashing the Bentley and trashing several squad cars, which lands him in jail on a 3-year sentence.
Crewe ends up in a Texas prison where the warden ( and guards are big on football. They play in a semi-pro league, and take everything very seriously. Warden Hazen (James Cromwell) wants Crewe to help give his team a few tips, since they’ll be playing last year’s league champs in their very first game. Crewe says it would be a good idea to have a tune-up game against a weaker team to help get their confidence up. Warden Hazen agrees, so he orders a reluctant Crewe to recruit some inmates to play against the guards.
The rest of the film consists of the scenes that you’d expect from a movie like this. First, we see how terrible the inmate team is and how good the guards are. Then we see Crewe have setback after setback in terms of recruiting. After that, one good player joins up, then another, and another. Finally, the inmate team starts coming together and it looks like they’ll have a shot to win after all. And of course, we get extended coverage of the Big Game, with the underdogs triumphing in the end.
My Reaction: Despite the fact that nothing unexpected happens in The Longest Yard, I still found it to be enjoyable. I guess that’s probably because I’m a huge football fan anyway, so I liked that the game was central to the story. Moreover, even though the script wasn’t that great, Sandler was his usual likable self, which made it easy to keep watching even though I knew how the whole thing was going to turn out.
One thing I didn’t particularly care for was how much of a farce the action in the big game was. I mean, karate kicks and punches? Give me a break! I would have preferred a more straightforward take on the game, with the inmates getting their revenge via the types of clean hits you’d actually get in a football game. I guess the filmmakers were going for laughs with those moves, but really, it was just stupid.
Besides William Fichtner as Knauer, I didn’t think any of the supporting characters were that good. I was expecting a lot more from Chris Rock, so I was disappointed with his lack of funny one-liners. The guys on the team weren’t very memorable either, unless you think big, brutish dumb clods are funny.
Overall, The Longest Yard won’t go down as one of Sandler’s best films, but it’s definitely watchable. I give it 6.0 stars out of 10, and recommend that you check it out the next time you’re in the mood for a mindless sports flick.
I was looking at my favorite entertainment websites today, like People.com and Entertainment Weekly, when I suddenly realized that I am not trendy at all when it comes to fashion. I would never be able to pull off any of the outfits that the celebs wear on the red carpet!