The Replacements came out at the turn of the millennium as a strange follow up for Keanu Reeves to The Matrix. Also starring Jon Favreau (in ridiculously aggro / full-throttle mode), Orlando Jones (bug-eyed / timorous / hilarious in every scene), and Gene Hackman (oddly sentimental for the otherwise goofy film), the movie boasts an all-star cast, off-the-wall humor, and a great comeback narrative inspired by a real life replacement team (the 1987 Washington Redskins) that filled in for the players on strike and who won three games at the tail end of the season; many even credit these wins for securing a top seed and enough momentum heading into the playoffs that the original team, after settling with the NFL and returning, ultimately won the Super Bowl.
Both silly and serious, absurd and heartwarming, and filled with an all-star but totally jarring 90's soundtrack (Lit, The Wallflowers, The Offspring), The Replacements is a quintessential composite of sports films that dominated cineplexes over the course of the decade that preceded it. Sure, there are moments that come off as borderline misogynistic and slightly racist and just simply in poor taste. During these moments, it is perhaps best to just wince or cringe, and to be grateful for how quickly our culture has changed and matured for the better.
Flaws and spiders and quicksand notwithstanding, the film can be as fulfilling, if in the right mood, as a bowl of hard boiled eggs (shout out to the diet of the Sumo wrestler linesman). With the sound of John Madden broadcasting, a juicy side-plot love story cheesy enough to win over the ironic romantic within us all, some circus-like brawls and melees, and lots of impromptu renditions of "I Will Survive" (accompanied by 400 lbs. dudes line-dancing), The Replacements will shamelessly pull everything out from its dated bag of tricks to win you over.
Best watched with a six pack and a few sarcastic friends.
