Not without its charm, but hardly worth more than a single viewing

Rating: 6/10 (12 November 2004)

First off, I hate most sports, and for the most part strongly dislike movies that are, in one way or another, for one reason or the other, based in sports. So maybe I shouldn't really be rating this movie... let alone reviewing it. But here it goes, anyway. The plot is decent, as is the pacing. The story is the usual losers-turned-into-winners, and the film sticks so much to the formula that it holds absolutely no surprises. The film is based on - and revolves around - a bunch of clichés and stereotypes. The humor is mostly overdone and lame, but there are exceptions. Not many, but they exist. The acting is decent; Jon Favreau and Keanu Reeves(and, of course, Gene Hackman) give pretty good performances. The characters are all paper-thin, walking, talking clichés and stereotypes. I have seen few other movies that have managed to fit in all of the major stereotypes; featured is the black guy who's a 'gangsta', the weak black guy who pretends to be 'gangsta', the Asian guy, the annoying British(oh, sorry, Welsh) guy, etc. You name it, this film's got it. What it doesn't have, however, is very much to offer, though a little humor that's doesn't entirely suck is included. But apart from that, the film is pretty much a dud. Even die-hard fans of the sub-genre(crude sports comedy) and/or the actors in it should probably find another film to spend time on. This has very little to offer(and nothing new at all) and isn't particularly memorable. I recommend only to huge fans of the sub-genre and the actors. 6/10