Mi-temps au mitard

I too got to see a free-sneak peak of this film in NYC and I'll tell you one thing . . there were no sleepers in the cinema! A very mixed crowd from race to ages here and everyone seemed to be having a great time . . even the teenager who sat behind me who reminded me of every actor when he appeared on the screen .. like Nelly. I haven't had this much fun in the theater in quite awhile. No, it's not a super serious film, but if you like football and the good feeling of revenge you'll love this film. Lots of violent blows from the guards and a little racism, but nothing too "out of the ordinary" . . some great one-liners from Chris Rock's character. A definite #1 film for Memorial Day weekend when it opens. I can see this film bringing in some good dough this summer.

Don't compare today's comedy version of "The Longest Yard" to the old with Burt Reynolds. Today's is good and effective for what it is, a comedy film with a bit of action interlaced. So many classic Hollywood films were so good, that any attempt at a remake is just going to fall flat on its face. The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler is more of today's take on the story if you asked me. It has humor, and is Sandler at his best with Chris Rock playing his role well too. Critics and classic moviegoers beware. Unless you are open-minded, you will never find the hidden treasures of the movie world. It's a football comedy, plain and simple.

The remake here was surprisingly good and pretty true to the original movie but will be most enjoyed by Adam Sandler fans or fans of the original. Except for a few exceptions to keep it up to date and a few to screw with those that saw the original, the stories are pretty much identical. The main character were all the same as well, but the supporting cast, especially the guards and cons, were changed up a bit.

Former NFL quarterback Paul Crewe (Sandler, replacing the original Burt Reynolds) is arrested and faces a 3 year sentence for GTA, DUI and I am sure some other stuff which is unimportant. After his sentencing, Warden Hazen (James Cromwell) pulls a few strings to get Crewe placed in his prison so he can coach his semi-pro team. Upon the urging of Captain Knauer (William Fichtner), Crewe declines, which sets the wheels in motion for an eventual game between Crewe and the convicts against Knauer and the guards.

The supporting football players were the real highlights of the movie, most notably Bob Sapp and Kevin Nash (I hate to say it but Nash did a good job. If only he was this good a wrestler), with honorable mentions to Nelly, Michael Irvin, Bill Goldberg, Steve Austin, Bill Romanowski & Brian Bosworth. Also, who could forget Chris Rock as Caretaker? This could not have been cast better.

Overall, A good comedy worth seeing. Especially if you are a Sandler fan.

In 1994, Peter Segal made his feature film directorial debut with NAKED GUN 33 1/3: THE FINAL INSULT, the hilarious concluding chapter of the NAKED GUN series. His follow-up was the even funnier TOMMY BOY in 1995, one of the best comedies of the 1990s. His next film, MY FELLOW Americans, was pretty funny but failed to generate the same number of laughs as his two previous films. Still, it seemed like Segal was destined to become one of the next great comedy directors. That is until 2000's NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS, a lame rehash of the 1996 remake. Since then, he's continued to direct pretty mediocre comedies like ANGER MANAGEMENT and 50 FIRST DATES so I had low expectations when I heard he was to direct the THE LONGEST YARD. Luckily, THE LONGEST YARD, his latest movie, is his best film since TOMMY BOY thanks to Segal's great comedic direction. In addition to handling the comedy well, he also does a fantastic job with the football scenes. In fact, I think it is safe to say that because of Segal's direction, THE LONGEST YARD is the best football film of the 2000s so far.

Anybody that knows me knows that if there is one type of movie I hate, it's remakes. There is no reason for them, making them pointless. However, for whatever reason, I actually enjoyed this one. From the great opening shot of a beautiful girl swimming in a pool to the very last shot of Warden Hazen (James Cromwell) getting Gatorade poured all over him, I found myself having a ball. It's just an all around fun film. Everyone does a great job with their roles (especially Sandler and Rock) and for an almost two hour movie, THE LONGEST YARD is fast-paced.

Still, THE LONGEST YARD has its fair share of problems. The rap sound track doesn't seem to fit the picture very well, some of the jokes fall pretty flat(i.e. most of the gay jokes), and there's not nearly as much character development as there was in the original. Despite these flaws, THE LONGEST YARD remains one of the highlights of 2005. Recommended.

People who lined up to bash this film had better get used to seeing more like it. Hollywood these days is stuck in a rut where three types of films account for nearly every film they release. Those are: remakes, sequels, and films based on comic book characters. The Longest Yard would of course fit into the first category. It is a slightly updated, but fairly faithful remake of the 1974 film of the same name. This time, we have Adam Sandler who plays the incarcerated quarterback that Burt Reynolds played in the original. Reynolds is on hand to play a minor role which the original film also contained. The plot is still the same. Prisoners vs guards in a game of football. Pretty simple.

Did the film make me laugh? Sure it did. There are more than a few chuckles, but not much in the way of side-splitting material. Sandler is actually not that memorable in this film. Some of the best performances actually come from people you might not expect. I was truly impressed with Nelly and Michael Irvin. Both men had their characters down, and really proved they could actually act. Chris Rock is about as good as you'd expect. Your own personal opinion of him will determine how you rate his performance. James Cromwell plays the corrupt warden about as well as you might expect. He's pretty much got the market cornered on evil white guy roles, since J.T. Walsh's untimely death. The rest of the cast becomes a game of "see if you can spot the NFL player, WWE combatant, or famous sports journalist". And what on earth was Cloris Leachman doing in the Bernadette Peters role from the original? Did she lose some kind of bet with Sandler on the set of Spanglish or something?

Should this film have been made? Well, we film critics can argue that point all day. The truth of the matter is that this film grossed over $150,000,000!!! As far as the studio bosses are concerned, this film was more than worth it. This was actually one of the more profitable comedies released this year, so you can expect more like it in the near future. I'll give it 6 of 10 stars. Don't expect anywhere near the film we got in 1974. But there are plenty of worse films on the shelves at your local video store.

The Hound.