The Replacements has been criticized for not being entirely accurate when it comes to football. That's not the point of this film though. It wasn't made to be an Oscar contender. It was made for sports fans who want to see a fun story and laugh while watching it. The Replacements delivers on both these aspects.
The story's backdrop is a strike among the professional football players with four games left in the season. Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) is brought in to coach the Washington Sentinels and bring in a group of replacement players to finish out the season. The unconventional McGinty picks players that others might not have deemed NFL worthy. The list includes: wide receiver Clifford Franklin (Orlando Jones), linebacker Daniel Bateman (Jon Favreau), kicker Nigel Gruff (Rhys Ifans), and quarterback Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves).
Most of the players McGinty picks haven't played football in awhile, but he believes that they have something the spoiled professionals don't, which is heart. The film goes on to tell the story of these replacement players and their fight to get into the playoffs. The players have to come to terms with their fears and learn to trust each other in order to do this. And they have their cheerleading squad, led by Falco's love interest Annabelle Farrell (Brooke Langton), to help them do this.
Shane Falco leads the squad in a way that isn't classy or inspirational, because that just wouldn't be their style. And that is the style of the film. It doesn't go out with the aim to be a story that will move you to tears, except maybe through laughter. The film is one to watch when looking for a light hearted story that offers some laughs.
The story's backdrop is a strike among the professional football players with four games left in the season. Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) is brought in to coach the Washington Sentinels and bring in a group of replacement players to finish out the season. The unconventional McGinty picks players that others might not have deemed NFL worthy. The list includes: wide receiver Clifford Franklin (Orlando Jones), linebacker Daniel Bateman (Jon Favreau), kicker Nigel Gruff (Rhys Ifans), and quarterback Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves).
Most of the players McGinty picks haven't played football in awhile, but he believes that they have something the spoiled professionals don't, which is heart. The film goes on to tell the story of these replacement players and their fight to get into the playoffs. The players have to come to terms with their fears and learn to trust each other in order to do this. And they have their cheerleading squad, led by Falco's love interest Annabelle Farrell (Brooke Langton), to help them do this.
Shane Falco leads the squad in a way that isn't classy or inspirational, because that just wouldn't be their style. And that is the style of the film. It doesn't go out with the aim to be a story that will move you to tears, except maybe through laughter. The film is one to watch when looking for a light hearted story that offers some laughs.