A Football Film With Heart and A Fat Chinese Guy

Rating: 6/10 (29 August 2006)

A football team (Washington Sentinels) owned by that guy from Problem Child (the grandfather) goes on strike, so the owner must replace the coach and players with new players. The coach (Gene Hackman) picks a lineup that excels in every way, a group he's had his eye on for quite some time (which really makes no sense if you think about it and realize where he's picking people from, but ignore that).
I think there's nothing about the plot an the "twists" that aren't completely predictable. I've seen many movies like this before and probably will again in the future. The only difference here was the cast.
Keanu Reeves delivered a less than stellar performance. He has been known to have good roles (I really enjoyed "The Lake House"), but he is also known as a really bad actor, and this role really added to the latter. Gene Hackman is a final actor, and was fine in this role... unfortunately it didn't require him to do much besides wear a suit and hat that were forty years out of date.
The cheerleaders were, well, decent. Many people have said the cheerleaders are "hot" (and are supposed to be because of some of the questionable scenes and the fact they're playing ex-strippers). I don't know. The head cheerleader was attractive in a motherly way and one of the cheerleaders was remarkable, but overall they were bland or looked like mental patients. If you're into the "dumb blonde" thing, maybe they're for you. Personally, I think they could have been written out entirely.
The team (besides Reeves) was perfect. The Welsh kicker was interesting and made me want to rent "Trainspotting", the Chinese guy was hilarious in his quest to gain more weight. He also set up John Madden for his only good line in the film about a "Fat guy dance". (Seriously, does anyone really need to see more John Madden?) The x-con was alright. Orlando Jones had a weak backstory, but he's a goofball actor and is given too much screen time in all his films (please stop giving him roles).
Overall, a patterned film that was entertaining but not really one that stands out. I'd even rather watch "Varsity Blues" if I wanted a football film. This one has heart, but unfortunately lacks originality.