Excelent movie for laughs without being total fluff

Rating: Null/10 (20 September 2000)

Sure this piece isn't the deepest thing that ever entered the theaters but hey, before you judge a film on it's moral implications and deeper meanings, think of this "What genre is it?" and "What is this movie intended to do?" The movie is quite cute, and very well done. I am generally not that big on Gene Hackman (he's a good actor I just don't always care for his films) but was pleased by the light air of amusement he brought to the role. Keanu Reeves may not be the world's most expressive actor (and being a guy I don't worry about whether he's "cute" or not) but he just seems to fit the bill a lot of the time. Anthony Hopkins is a tremendous actor, but that doesn't mean he'd make a good quarterback (well, you never know with him), but Keanu Reeves just plays it quite naturally, athletes can often be a little stiff, especially one who is slightly alienated. The supporting cast was great, and each brought that little bit of zeal to their role instead of resting on the laurels of being famous. Think of this, how many successful movies made stars instead of used them (In a word Star Wars). This has light comedy, an undertone about the snobbish attitudes of modern athletes, without worrying about any kind of specific finger (all the teams are fictional). It had classy humour (no fart gags and other crass things meant to be humour) and not-so-classy humor for those who need that sort of thing (in a word, Cheerleaders). So overall you didn't come away a greater person for the effort but really, all that matters is did it entertain and did you come out a HAPPIER person.