Hey folks, Harry here... Here's another, not so happy review regarding the remake, THE LONGEST YARD with Adam Sandler. Seems he's not quite as hard on it as Mr Beaks was, but it is still not very nice. Personally - the best thing about all these remakes, is the studios use them as an excuse to do a feature heavy edition of the original film that gets released nearly day and date, usually the Tuesday before Theatrical debut. In this case, a really great edition of Robert Aldrich's bad ass original THE LONGEST YARD hits on May 10th! That's definitely one to look for! If you're looking forward to this new one, watch out for spoilers, they're all through this.
Yesterday afternoon I attended a screening of "The
Longest Yard". I think it was mainly for a couple of
reviewers to watch and make endorsements for it
because they didn't have us fill out any cards or
anything when we were done. It's unfortunate that
they didn't ask for our opinions, because in my
opinion, the film could still use a lot of work.
For the most part, I agree with Mr. Beaks' opinions of
it that you ran a few weeks ago. The film really
struggles in deciding whether or not to take itself
seriously. At times I was confused if this was
supposed to be a "Manchurian Candidate" remake or a
"Brady Bunch" movie remake. I think the times that it
works the best are when it treats itself like the
latter. That being said, it just didn't work that
well. It was full of tired cliches, predictable
punchlines, and stereotypes, oh wait, this is a
remake! Duh.
The film starts with a lot of promise; a underwater
shot of a woman with a very hot body, swimming. What
it had to do with the rest of the movie, I'm not sure,
but I liked it. Courtney Cox-Arquette and her
cleavage made a nice cameo, and then the movie goes
downhill for awhile.
The next hour was not all that captivating. The
highlight is the introduction of the various
characters and realizing that this cast is full of WWE
wrestlers and ex-NFLers. The crowd went nuts went
Burt Reynolds appeared on screen. Unfortunately, they
didn't ask anything more of him than a phoned-in
performance. (I guess it was better than not having
him in it at all.)
The big game is the highlight of the film. And that's
not saying much. I think the game was much better
than the rest though and it really makes me wish I was
watching Monday Night Football on a screen like that.
Mr. Beaks complained that the film was toned down for
a pg-13 rating. I don't know if they tried to make it
edgier or what, but they did have an F-bomb in the cut
I saw, as well as some jokes with the N word (and I
don't mean Nelly).
If you're into prison humor (ass-rape jokes, etc),
then this film is for you. If you're into movies
featuring WWE wrestlers hamming it up, then you might
want to see this. If you're into racist, redneck type
humor, then this might be up your alley. If you want
to see a movie about convicts playing against guards
in a football game, I highly recommend saving yourself
$10 and renting the original "The Longest Yard"
instead of wasting your time on this flick.
partyflavor
ps. I just realized that I didn't mention Adam
Sandler at all. Why not? Frankly, I kinda forgot he
was even in the movie, I mean who wouldn't when he's
dwarfed by the presence of such big names as James
Cromwell, Kevin Nash, and Stone Cold Steve Austin!
Meanwhile - here's the film's target audience, people that have never seen the original and that want something light and frothy. Remember - if you remember Beaks' review - apparently the audience had a blast with it. This is one of those remakes that most likely is critic proof. We'll see.
Harry,
I also saw The Longest Yard the other day here in L.A., and I loved it. I don't usually send in reviews to you unless I whole-heartedly disagree with another reviewer, and this is one of those times.
I've never seen the original (although my screening companion had, and she loved it, too), so I can't compare it. But I can tell you that this is a nice twist on the old Sandler formula. Here he plays the straight man instead of playing a man-child. And while another reviewer thought the movie didn't know if it was serious or silly, I disagree. It starts out serious, then it gets a little silly, and a little more and a little more, until by the end it's everywhere and in your face. But it's this building momentum of silliness that makes the film work.
Does the film have trashy humor? Uh, yeah - have you seen a Sandler film? But most of the jokes hit their mark, as evidenced by the audience that I saw it with, which was laughing hysterically by the end.
I give Sandler an A, Burt a C+, Chris Rock a B, Tracy Morgan a B+. And the movie that I saw I'll give an A-. I think they'll trim it up a bit and it'll improve to a solid A. Mark my words - this will be the #1 film in the country for several weeks, and deservedly so.
For what it's worth,
Captain Friendly
