And, after having reviewed three other similar films recently (�Man of the House,� �Guess Who,� and �Kicking and Screaming�) I feel like I�m running out of ideas. There are, after all, only so many ways to stretch the idea �It was kind of funny� into a full-length article. (Full Disclosure: This is my own fault, considering that I selected each film in question.) However, since I promised to do this story, the show must go on�

	�The Longest Yard� Entertainment Art Directed by Peter Segal Written by Albert S Ruddy, Tracy Keenan Wynn, and Sheldon Turner Starring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Burt Reynolds Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, violence, language and drug references.

He loses credibility, however, during any moment where Crewe is meant to be earnest, or inspiring, or anything other than sarcastic and ironic. The galling thing is that he has it in him to play it right; anyone who saw �Spanglish� knows that he can be a good actor when he tries. Unfortunately I think this is the level that Adam prefers to work at: crass, commercial, quick, and easy. He�s kind of like a little kid being told to wash up; he�ll do it every now and then to get mom off his back, but he�d much rather stay dirty. Does this mean Sandler�s performance isn�t enjoyable? No- but it doesn�t leave a lasting impression either.

The rest of the cast does what they can with the paint-by-numbers script. Chris Rock shows up periodically to deliver his standard �Chris Rock�s Standup Routine� performance, peppering the film with jokes and comedic observations. Much like Sandler, Rock is funny, if not completely believable as a character in this film. Since this is a remake, the immutable laws of central casting dictate that the star of the original film needs to appear in a supporting role in the new version. In this instance, Burt Reynolds shows up as old-timer Nate Scarborough, another former football star serving time in the prison. Reynolds at least looks like he�s enjoying himself in the film; he�s one of the few actors who appear to be working for anything other than a paycheck here. Speaking of which, James Cromwell plays the warden, and William Fitchner is the lead guard.

Most of the other actors are an odd mix of former football stars (Michael Irvin, Brian Bosworth, Bob Sapp, and others), ex pro wrestlers (Bill Goldberg, �Stone Cold� Steve Austin, Kevin Nash), at least one rapper (Nelly), and various ESPN personalities (Chris Berman, Jim Rome, Dan Patrick). Most of them pull off reasonably good performances; of course most of them are playing off versions of their own public personas, and many of the characters have little to no story arc to speak of (Irvin�s development from incredulous bystander to willing participant is perhaps the most Shakespearean turn in the entire film).

What struck me about this, however, is that practically none of the guys playing guards or convicts really bothered to act like anything other than former football or wrestling stars- this is not so much a movie about prison as it is about the worst training camp imaginable. Even the prison set itself is kind of phoning it in. It looks more like a building playing a prison than an actual jailhouse. It�s predictably decrepit looking and run down and desolate; it resembles the Alamo, surrounded by razor wire and gun turrets. I�m also positive that the party house from the intro segment is the same as Lawrence Taylor�s pad from Oliver Stone�s �Any Given Sunday,� which doesn�t help the believability of that scene either.

So I suppose if you can get past the stunt casting of nearly every role, the somewhat fraudulent environments, and Adam Sandler trying to act sincere, you may be able to enjoy �The Longest Yard.� After all, there are some parts of it that are, in fact, kind of funny.

Write Comment
Name:	Guest
Title:
Comment:
Code:*

Powered by AkoComment 2.0!