Keanu Scores Big Time

Rating: 9/10 (11 September 2000)

When professional football players go on strike, the owners decide to continue on with the season by putting together teams made up of the best players they can find. The owner of the Seattle franchise, O'Neil (Jack Warden), hires former coach McGinty (Gene Hackman) to take charge and field a team that can take them to the playoffs which, with four games left, is within their grasp. `The Replacements,' directed by Howard Deutch, are guys whose careers had been cut short or sidelined for one reason or another, and now because of the strike are given a rare opportunity in the life of an athlete: A second chance. But it's more than just a shot at the brass ring; it's a chance to heal, to shed the stigma of loss, failure and disappointment they've all carried with them, in one way or another, since their playing days abruptly and prematurely ended. For quarterback Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves), it's being able to shake the memory of a grueling forty-five point defeat in the Sugar Bowl, which has seemingly defined him since, plaguing him even during his very brief pro career.
Reeves does a great job with Falco, convincingly conveying the discontent lying buried beneath the surface of this man who has had to move on with his life, though unable to tie up the loose ends with which he obviously has yet to come to terms. And it's that lack of closure, that intangible feeling clinging on to his soul that makes Falco such a strong character; there's something in his situation that most people have experienced, to one degree or another, whether it's a sense of failure or alienation one may have suffered, that makes him someone with whom you can readily identify. It's what lies at the core of the story, and through Reeves' performance and Deutch's direction it becomes easily accessible, and it's one of the strengths of the film. This movie, after all, is about so much more than football; it's about character and spirit and, as McGinty says at one point, heart. And that's what makes these guys play like there is no tomorrow. Because for them there is no tomorrow; once the strike is over, who knows what will happen? For now they have today, and for many of them just being shuck of `yesterday' is enough to give them new life.
Especially memorable in supporting roles are Jon Favreau (Bateman), Rhys Ifans (Gruff), Orlando Jones (Franklin) and Brooke Langton (Annabelle). Rounding out the cast are Brett Cullen (Martel), Faizon Love (J. Jackson), Michael Taliferro (A. Jackson) and Ace Yonamine (Fumiko). While the movie fails to avoid stereotypes altogether (O'Neil), Hackman, as McGinty, is the absolute epitome of the `coach,' and `The Replacements' is entertaining and uplifting while putting the game into perspective and making a statement about greed and human nature. There are moments in this film that are not so much predictable as inevitable, but the climactic game will have you on the edge of your seat; it ain't over till it's over. In the end, you realize that it doesn't really matter who wins or loses, because you'll come away feeling maybe a little bit better about yourself and life in general; and call it what you will, that seems like a pretty good deal to me. I rate this one 9/10.