Football has-beens and never-weres briefly make the pros

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2001)

This movie is a howler if you don't let the professional movie critics sour your outlook. Apparently the fil-um critics think the 1987 football player strike deserves more serious treatment (why?). Gene Hackman, who has been quoted as saying he tries to play every scene as if it will eventually define his career, is, as usual, utterly believable no matter how little "real drama" there is in this fine comedy. Keanu Reeves is, of all things, believable too, and even drops his usual Valley Girl accent. I never thought I'd see him actually tone down his presence for a role - maybe he spent some time watching Hackman perform. Anyhow, the two play off each other beautifully. And as for one critic's sour "you won't need to take the blue pill to forget you've seen this" remark, I don't think I will ever forget the sight of the entire replacement team, including three members built like sumo wrestlers, do a not-quite-synchronised electric boogaloo while singing "I Will Survive" in a police lock-up following a brawl with the striking "real" players. This is a fine, funny movie and the critics should take a lesson from it in not taking themselves so damned seriously. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favour and rent it.