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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Remake Offering a Terrific Guilty Pleasure..., September 21, 2005
Remakes usually surface like the bubbles in a bathtub, with an expected reeking sensation. However, this remake is rather amusing, even though it does not measure up with the original. The cast is decent and the story amusing without much greatness to be pondered, which leaves the audience with an enjoyable cinematic experience that is worth a viewing and several laughs.
In football, individuals put in hundreds of hours over the off-season in the weight room to get into ideal shape and the team polishes its plays to perfection through countless hours of preparation by coaches and players. Despite all the preparations, one single mistake could break the whole situation, which could possibly result in a loss, or injury. This in turn could have a downward spiraling affect on the team as a whole and affect the whole season. Thus, when it happens, the coach is usually in the face of the player to make sure that it never happens again, as mistakes are what separate the winners from the losers. This is why football is the ultimate team sport. In the testosterone pumped remake The Longest Yard, Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) embodies the mistake of all mistakes in a football career, as he is sent to prison for the theft of his girlfriend's Bentley.
Paul Crewe destroyed the valiant notion of hard work and dedication that surrounds football some years before the film takes place by shaving points in a football game for personal gain. In disgrace, Crewe has withdrawn from public life while his girlfriend, played by Courteney Cox Arquette, flourishes in exposure. This personal conflict between the two leads the drunken Crewe to steal her car, as she has it reported stolen. The combination of alcohol, smart mouthing, and the car theft among other things lands Crewe a lengthy prison term in the Texas penal system. Crewe ends up in Texas due to Warden Hazen (James Cromwell) who has pulled some strings to have Crewe sentenced in his prison, as he wants to win the Texas penitentiary league.
When Crewe arrives to the prison, he quickly learns that both the guards and the inmates do not desire his presence. This is also one of the reasons why he declines to help the Warden, as the guards are disgusted by his past in the professional league where he was appointed the most valuable player. Immediately Crewe sets an example through which he acquires some respect, but it also means that he must help the warden. He finds himself suggesting that the guards should play a tune-up game against some bad players, which gives Hazen the idea of a game between the guards and the inmates.
At first, some inmates join up with Crewe, but there is a severe lack of talent among the prisoners and many of them are suspicious about Crewe. Eventually, some talent emerges out of the secret hiding places and offers services to the team. Many join the team to get a chance to repay the guards for years of humiliation and pain. With the help of former Heisman winner Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds) and Caretaker (Chris Rock) Crewe has four weeks to prepare this rowdy bunch into a well-oiled Mean Machine that will be ready to stomp the guards. However, it is not a painless journey for Crewe and company, as they face much adversity from within the prison while the heat begins to build up for a game that is beginning to gain national attention.
Once again, Peter Segal partners up with Adam Sandler with whom he made Anger Management (2003) and 50 First Dates (2004), but it is not where Segal began his career directing comedies. It is clear that Segal possess the skill of delivering decent comedies, yet much of the humor in the film is unoriginal and recognizable from other films. Despite the formulaic approach, Segal succeeds in creating an entertaining concept that works and offers both humor and drama. Some of the success might be due to that the film staying close to the original by Robert Aldrich from 1974 with Burt Reynolds. Whatever it is in the film that makes it work, it ends up creating a story of trust, unity, and loyalty, which emerges in one of the least likely places in the world - prison.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Popcorn Movie, May 27, 2005
Thanks to my numerous contacts in the media (okay, I admit, I snuck in), I was able to see a pre-screening of Adam Sandler's latest film "The Longest Yard." The movie is a remake of the 1974 Burt Reynold's classic of the same name. Adam Sandler plays Paul Crewe, a former NFL MVP quarterback that was accused of shaving points from a game. He is washed out of the NFL, and we catch up with him five years later at a party being hosted by his girlfriend. Crewe gets drunk, steals his girlfriend's car, and later goes on a high speed chase with police that results in his arrest.
Enter James Cromwell as Warden Hazen. Hazen is a warden of a Texas prison that sports a semi-professional football team that could use the help of the NFL inmate. Hazen pulls some favors and finds himself with the star prisoner, and through the standard means forces Crewe to help out his team. Crewe suggests a practice game against a lesser opponent to sharpen the skills of the players and to get their confidence up. Warden Hazen then tells Crewe to put together a team of prisoners to take on the guards. During this Crewe befriends Caretaker, played by Chris Rock.
This movie is a fast moving popcorn film that is enjoyable for its faith to the original film, and the new twists and upgrades this film makes. Sandler plays his character well, he even looks like he beefed up for the part, Chris Rock is foul mouthed as usual, but the audience begins to empathize with his character. The audience will enjoy the numerous cameos that include Chris Berman for ESPN, Bill Goldberg and Stone Cold Steve Austin of wrestling lore, and the indefatigable Burt Reynolds, who plays an aged inmate who in a former life won the Heisman trophy.
It is important to note that Reynolds truly does embarass the rest of the cast with his acting ability. In a lot of ways I can't believe that I'm actually saying that, but it's true. In the first part of the film, we get used to the onscreen presence of Sandler, Rock et al. But once Reynolds walks into the film, we realize just how poor all the other actors are, despite their above par performances. If you can still suspend your disbelief with Reynolds on screen, then you will enjoy this movie.
There were some downpoints to the film. James Cromwell is just not believable. There are plenty of sophomoric antics that Sandler has yet to mature from, and there is plenty of tasteless humor about prison sodomy that detracts greatly from the film. Fortunately, the film moves too quickly to dwell on such things. This movie is not art, and it is not the drama that the first incarnation was, but it's a lot more fun.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
hmmm, pretty decent, January 23, 2007
I like a few Adam Sandler films, and this is one of them. I admit I mostly liked the Longest Yard because I'm a big WWE fan, and the film featured stars like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Great Khali, Goldberg, and Kevin Nash (and probably a few others). It was, however, disappointing that Steve Austin was only featured in a few shots. He should have played a bigger part. Despite all the wrestler appearances, I would have probably liked this film anyway.
I'm no fan of Chris Rock, but even he was pretty tolerable for the most part. He played a nice guy in the film (well, as nice as a prisoner can be) and his parts were all pretty decent.
I had to laugh at the end of the film when the guards thought Adam Sandler was trying to escape, so they pointed a gun to his head and thought about shooting, but changed their mind when they realized he was only walking away to pick up a football. It was an unintentionally funny moment.
The film did a respectable job turning a bunch of prisoners into football players. They actually spent a good amount of time building them up, and training them, and correctly showing them how to play the game. Overall, good movie.
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