kris-124

Let me preface my remarks by saying I am a huge sports fan and an aficionado of the sports film genre... therein lies the problem... I can't see ANY virtue in a film that attempts to glorify the untalented scabs who were "replacement players" during the 1987 National Football League players' strike, one of the sorriest chapters in the history of a sport full of sorry chapters when it comes to employee relations.

Do we see anything about how labour unions protect the benefits of workers who suffer debilitating injuries on the job -- certainly a reality in a brutal game like football? No - instead we see the self-absorbed millionaire QB, all to make 'The Replacements' all the more endearing and lovable.

Pretty much every scene in the film betrays the director and producer's complete lack of knowledge about the sport (particularly so during the scene where the Washington Sentinels recover an onside kick - uh, you can't advance the ball after recovering it). And cheerleaders don't have unions, so the scenes of Annabelle (Brooke Langton) auditioning for replacement pom-pom girls didn't serve any interest except to laugh at people who don't conform to some Hollywood-homogenized standard of beauty.

Bear Bryant is probably spinning in his grave after seeing Gene Hackman imitate his coaching attire, although Hackman manages to come out of this with his dignity intact, no mean feat. Honestly, both people who enjoyed Rodney Dangerfield's "Ladybugs" can breathe easy, because we have new undisputed champeen for Worst Sports Film Ever.

I've seen better film on teeth. I was subjected to the dreck recently while hanging without friends and while I can typically enjoy most anything if treated as camp or kitsch, that proved daunting. This movie is unbelievably lunkheaded, rife with insipid dialogue, a kindergarten worldview - does anyone out there still believe that it isn't morally bankrupt to revel in glorifying war? - and an incredibly annoying cast of the worst scenery-chewers from the ranks of Young Hollywood. And the special effects rank with 'Battlestar Gallactica."

As bad, offensive movies go, this is even worse than being subjected to the 'The Replacements' on a long-distance bus trip. At least here I had the option of slipping out for some air, thus relieving me of having to watch the final 40 minutes or so... nevertheless, when I meet my Maker, I expect to be sent to Purgatory to make up for the ~85 minutes I spent watching this... ah, maybe I'm just bitter because Denise Richards is in this movie, but ISN'T in the totally gratuitous coed shower scene.

This show got off to a faltering start, but now, after close to two years on the air, I daresay "Craiggers" is developing something of a loyal following. His 12:30 counterpart, Conan O'Brien, probably possesses a greater wit, but the smarmy, irreverent Kilborn has harnessed that particular undefinable quality that makes for a funny late-night talk show. Mixing David Letterman's "ironic detachment" with deliberately lowbrow gags, quirky features like "5 Questions", "Yambo" and "In the News" (a carryover from the host's tenure with 'The Daily Show'), The Late Late Show has become quite funny and certain appeals to the 18-35 demographic... you'll be chagrined when you find yourself laughing at "The Ewok Guy" and goofs like "Craig Says The Wrong Thing To The Fish and Game Warden."