The Replacements (film)

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The Replacements

Directed by	Howard Deutch
Produced by	Dylan Sellers, Jeffrey Chernov, Steven Reuther
Written by	Vince McKewin
Starring	Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Brooke Langton, Orlando Jones
Editing by	Seth Flaum, Bud S. Smith
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release date(s)	11 August 2000
Running time	118 mins.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Replacements is a 2000 comedy film directed by Howard Deutch, starring Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Brooke Langton and Orlando Jones, very loosely based on the 1987 NFL players' strike.

1 Tagline
2 Synopsis
3 Characters
4 Breakdown of Games
5 Trivia
6 External links

[edit] Tagline

Pros on strike. Everyday guys get to play.

Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory lasts forever.

Throw the ball. Catch the girl. Keep it simple.

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film opens with a professional football game being played in Washington, D.C. During the final minutes of the game, commentators John Madden and Pat Summerall (playing themselves) discuss the fact that at midnight, all of the players in the League will go on strike since contract negotiations with the owners have failed, perilously close to the end of the regular playing season. Due to League regulations, the strike cannot extend into the post-season. The Sentinels are poised to continue into the post-season play-offs if they win three of the last four regular season games. Edward O'Neil, owner of the Washington Sentinels, contacts former head coach Jimmy McGinty, recruiting him to put together a team of replacement players during the strike. McGinty agrees on two conditions: that he have no interference in his coaching from O'Neil and that his choices for the replacements are unquestioned. While other teams recruit semi-pro or former pro players, McGinty assembles an eclectic group of players that confuse the other coaching staff.

The team cheerleaders also join the strike, leaving Annabelle Farrell, the head cheerleader, to find a new cheering squad during the remaining four games. The first group of prospective cheerleaders are so untalented that Annabelle eagerly accepts Dawn and Heather, the only two so far to have dance experience or acceptable looks. When they inform her that they dance at a strip club, Annabelle hesitates, then agrees to recruit them. She invites them to send their stripper friends to tryout as well. The resulting cheerleading squad, composed of strippers, is uproarious, and their extremely sexual antics prove most helpful to the replacement Sentinels during the San Diego game.

At first, the team suffers from communication problems and disagreements. They lose their first game. But McGinty's unique coaching style and an ensuing barfight with the striking Sentinels team helps the replacements cut through their mistrust and lack of cohesion. Even after winning the San Diego and Phoenix games, the replacement quarterback, Shane Falco, is still choking when the game is on the line. When Eddie Martel, the Sentinels' contracted quarterback, crosses the picket line, O'Neil breaks his promise of non-interference and manipulates McGinty into allowing Martel to play in Falco's place. O'Neil doesn't believe that Falco has the ability to lead the team to victory against the reconstituted Dallas team, whose team is once again composed of regularly contracted world champion players who have all crossed the picket line in order to ensure a play-off bid. Martel's prima donna behavior causes serious problems on the field during the Washington-Dallas game. When McGinty is questioned at half-time by a reporter about what the team would need to win, he replies: "Heart... miles and miles of heart." In addition to quoting "Heart" from Damn Yankees (which also takes place in Washington, D.C.), this is a veiled message to Falco, who is watching from home after being inexplicably cut from the team despite being the backup quarterback. McGinty had told Falco when he was informed about the switch to Martel that Falco had something Martel didn't have: heart. Falco makes it to the game before halftime ends, Martel is thrown out, and Falco leads the replacement team to victory. Though they are precluded from playing in the playoff spot they earned for the Sentinels, the replacement players are able to return to their lives with their heads held higher, knowing that they finally won their moment of glory.

There is a romantic subplot involving Shane Falco and Annabelle Farrell, the head cheerleader. Players and cheerleaders are not allowed to fraternize in professional football, but the temporary status of Shane's position on the team makes the point rather moot *As John Madden puts it, "Yeah, but what are they gonna do, fire him?"). Shane and Annabelle become friendly, then fall for one another. Shane has a date with Annabelle following the Phoenix game, but stands her up after being cut from the team in favor of Martel. When he returns to the team during the Dallas game, he apologizes to Annabelle and they rekindle their relationship at the end of the movie.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Replacement Sentinels

Clifford Franklin #81 (WR) (Orlando Jones) - a stockboy in a mini-mart who can outrun anyone, but cannot catch anything. He is ecstatic to meet the real professional players until their hostility towards him eventually overcomes his exuberance.
Jahmal Abdul Jackson & André Action Jackson #72 & #73 (OG) (Faizon Love and Michael Taliferro) - brothers and former offensive linemen turned bodyguards for rapper ODB who only seem to excel when they play on the same team.
Nigel Gruff #3 (K) (Rhys Ifans) - a Welsh footballer (soccer player) and pub owner, nicknamed "The Leg" because he can kick a soccerball (and later football) the entire length of the playing field. He also has a tendency to smoke on the field and has a crippling gambling addiction.
Jumbo Fumiko #68 (C) (Ace Yonamine) - a Japanese sumo wrestler turned offensive tackle with a passion for food.
Earl Wilkinson aka "Ray Smith" #42 (CB) (Michael Jace) - a former football star DB/KR serving a prison sentence for assaulting a police officer. He's allowed to play with the permission of the governor of Maryland. Wilkinson is given the pseudonym "Ray Smith" and almost no background on him is given to the commentators, likely to prevent public outcry over the recruiting of an incarcerated felon.
Brian Murphy #86 (TE) (David Denman)- an excellent football player from Gallaudet University who would have been a professional superstar at tight end had he not been born deaf.
Daniel "Danny" Bateman #56 (LB) (Jon Favreau) - a reserved, almost reticent man during normal interaction with people, but when placed in an adversarial situation, goes completely berserk. Linebacker and defensive captain. He was a walk-on player at Michigan State and later a Gulf War veteran. Current member of the Washington D.C. SWAT team, he will take down anyone whom he perceives to be his enemy and anyone in the way of his target.
Walter Cochran #34 (RB) (Troy Winbush) - a firm believer in the power of the Lord, Cochran blew out his knee as a young football player and never had a chance to turn pro. A big, bruising running back, his dream has always been to score a touchdown in a professional football game.
Shane Falco #16 (QB) (Keanu Reeves) - Former Ohio State quarterback whose opportunities in football dried up after he choked during the Sugar Bowl during his senior year. He was drafted by Seattle where he was thrown into the pro spotlight with no preparation. His professional career washed out soon afterwards. He now lives on a boat and earns his living scraping barnacles and other debris off the boats tied at the marina.

[edit] Cheerleaders

Annabelle Farrell (Brooke Langton)- Head cheerleader for the Washington Sentinels and owner of a bar on A Street in Washington. She drives fairly recklessly and learned everything she knows about football from her father; her father was a Washington Sentinels fan all his life and opened the sports bar Annabelle now owns and runs. Annabelle also introduces Shane to the use of wild yam plaster as a treatment for bruises and sore muscles.
Heather (Sarah Ann Morris)- one of two strippers who come to try out for the Sentinels' cheerleading squad during the strike. She considers lap dancing a dance style and is the brighter of the two.
Dawn (Caroline Keenan)- the second of the two strippers who come to try out for the Sentinels' cheerleading squad during the strike. According to Heather, it is commonplace for Dawn to say "Oh, my God, I forgot to tell you something!" and promptly forgets whatever it was she had forgotten to say.

[edit] Other characters

Edward O'Neil (Jack Warden)- owner of the Washington Sentinels. O'Neil is the epitome of the double-talking, manipulative businessman who is only interested in accolades and doesn't think twice about reneging on a deal if it will earn him a more desirable result.
Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman)- former head coach of the Washington Sentinels. Once fired from his coaching job by O'Neil, he is asked back to coach the replacement players. Seeing this as an opportunity to put together his personal fantasy football team, McGinty offers his recruits a chance at glory and truly believes in his players.
Eddie Martell #7 (Brett Cullen) - regular first-string quarterback for the Washington Sentinels. Selfish, egotistical and generally a very nasty individual, he dismisses the talents of the replacement players and especially enjoys putting Shane Falco down.
Pilachowski and Banes- (Gailard Sartain & Art LaFleur, respectively)Jimmy McGinty's coaching staff. Skeptical about the replacement players, they nevertheless follow McGinty's recommendations and find ways to work with the ragtag group of players.

[edit] Breakdown of Games

Pre-Strike Game- Miami Baracudas versus Washington Sentinels: Sentinels QB Eddie Martell could have run in for the winning score at the last second, but opted for sliding down before the goalline to avoid possibly getting hurt.
Game 1- Detroit Ironmen versus Washington Sentinels: The Sentinels lose 14-10 after Falco misjudges a play on the field, disregards the play Coach McGinty calls in. Instead of a pass he audibles to Cochran who gets tackled short of the goal line.
Game 2- San Diego Stallions versus Washington Sentinels: Sentinels win 17-16, with a little help from some quite distracting cheerleader dancing and a last second FG by Gruff. The team begins to develop chemistry on the field.
Game 3- Washington Sentinels at Phoenix Scorpions: Washington's only road game. Sentinels win 22-21 by sheer luck...and a little adhesive.
Game 4- Dallas Ropers versus Washington Sentinels: The entire Dallas roster crossed the picket line so the replacement Sentinels have to play a team of full-blown professionals. Sentinels win 20-17, coming back from a halftime score of 17-0, Dallas. Winning this game ensures that the Sentinels will have a slot in the playoffs.

The uniforms used in the movie are not, nor are they intended to be, replicas of those used by NFL teams. Both the "League" and teams are entirely fictional and are not meant to be a representation of any current or former NFL team (although there are references in dialogue to a character being an "All-Pro Quarterback" and having Super Bowl rings). The story is inspired by the NFL and the players' strike that took place during the 1987 season.

[edit] Trivia

Real football coaches were hired to coach the actors, and real players were also used to make up the bulk of the teams.
Reeves previously played a quarterback from OSU in Point Break.
Marty Wright, currently The Boogeyman in the WWE, appears in this movie as a defensive member of the Dallas team.
Keanu Reeves was offered a tryout with the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL, due to his performance in The Replacements; the film was shot at the Ravens' stadium (M&T Bank Stadium) during the preseason.
Gene Hackman's love for football led to his being cast in this film.
The character of Danny Bateman suffers unpredictable fits of violence while on the field. This was rumoured to be a play on the character of Patrick Bateman from the film American Psycho.
Orlando Jones was featured in an interview scene of the film to be drinking 7-Up; he is the real-life pitchman for this product.
While practicing on the football field of Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, MD, Orlando Jones met comedian BIG Ben Kennedy, a former GBHS graduate, and got Kennedy in as an extra.
Appearing as themselves in the film are John Madden and Pat Summerall. Madden and Summerall worked together as football commentators for 20 years, first at CBS and then at FOX. The pair's last game was Super Bowl XXXVI (2002), after which Madden became co-host of ABC's Monday Night Football in the autumn of 2002 with longtime play-by-play announcer Al Michaels.
The 65-yard field goal kicked by Nigel Gruff to win the San Diego game would have been a new NFL record, breaking the record of 63 yards set by Tom Dempsey in 1970 and tied by Jason Elam in 1998. In an exhibition game before the 2002 season, Ola Kimrin converted a 65 yard field goal, but preseason games are not counted in the NFL record books.
This was Jack Warden's last film.
In the scene where Shane first enters Annabelle's bar, a Washington Redskins helmet can be seen for a second in the background.
The teams on Blitz: The League are loosely based from the teams in The Replacements.
Shane Falco wears #16 as an homage to Ryan Leaf.
Danny Bateman wears #56 as an homage to Lawrence Taylor.