The Longest Yard (2005)

Prison inmates form a football team to challenge the prison guards.

Director:

Peter Segal

Writers:

Albert S. Ruddy (story), Tracy Keenan Wynn,

Stars:

Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds

2 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adam Sandler	...	Paul Crewe
Chris Rock	...	Caretaker
Burt Reynolds	...	Coach Nate Scarborough
Nelly	...	Megget
Michael Irvin	...	Deacon Moss
Walter Williamson	...	Errol Dandridge
Bill Goldberg	...	Battle
Terry Crews	...	Cheeseburger Eddy
Bob Sapp	...	Switowski
Nicholas Turturro	...	Brucie
Dalip Singh	...	Turley
Lobo Sebastian	...	Torres
Joey Diaz	...	Big Tony (as Joey 'Coco' Diaz)
Steve Reevis	...	Baby Face Bob
David Patrick Kelly	...	Unger

Storyline

Paul "Wrecking" Crewe was a revered football superstar back in his day, but that time has since faded. But when a messy drunk driving incident lands him in jail, Paul finds he was specifically requested by Warden Hazen (James Cromwell), a duplicitous prison official well aware of Paul's athletic skills. Paul has been assigned the task of assembling a team of convicts, to square off in a big football game against the sadistic guards. With the help of fellow convict Caretaker, and an old legend named Nate Scarborough to coach, Crewe is ready for what promises to be a very interesting game. It's only the warden and the guards who have no idea who or what they're up against, with Paul the driving force behind the new team.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | warden | convict | coach | jail | 

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Taglines:

It was hard to put a team together... until they found out who they were playing.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, violence, language and drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Gaumont Columbia Tristar [France] Paramount [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spiel ohne Regeln

Filming Locations:

El Camino College, Torrance, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$82,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$484,550 (Germany) (23 September 2005)

Gross:

£4,382,307 (UK) (7 October 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation, MTV Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chris Berman's play call of "Look at that little Meggett run!" is a reference to a famous NFL Monday Night Football incident. Howard Cosell's original call of "Look at that little monkey run!" in describing Washington Redskin Alvin Garrett sparked a controversy and accusations of racism because Garrett was black. Berman even tries to imitate Cosell's voice on the call. Berman also used this line and voice on ESPN when describing the play of former New York Giants running back Dave Meggett.

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Goofs

When Crewe first gets to prison he is kicked off the bus and he lands on his back. The back of his hair and shirt are extremely dirty. When he meets with Warden Hazen a short time later, the back of his shirt and hair are clean.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lorenzo: I love that dress.
Lena: Of course you do, Lorenzo, you made it.

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Connections

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Sheldon Turner (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Saturday Night Special"
by Edward King & Ronnie Van Zant
Performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Excellent Remake, In My Opinion... And Bob Sapp Still Rules!

The remake here was surprisingly good and pretty true to the original movie but will be most enjoyed by Adam Sandler fans or fans of the original. Except for a few exceptions to keep it up to date and a few to screw with those that saw the original, the stories are pretty much identical. The main character were all the same as well, but the supporting cast, especially the guards and cons, were changed up a bit.

Former NFL quarterback Paul Crewe (Sandler, replacing the original Burt Reynolds) is arrested and faces a 3 year sentence for GTA, DUI and I am sure some other stuff which is unimportant. After his sentencing, Warden Hazen (James Cromwell) pulls a few strings to get Crewe placed in his prison so he can coach his semi-pro team. Upon the urging of Captain Knauer (William Fichtner), Crewe declines, which sets the wheels in motion for an eventual game between Crewe and the convicts against Knauer and the guards.

The supporting football players were the real highlights of the movie, most notably Bob Sapp and Kevin Nash (I hate to say it but Nash did a good job. If only he was this good a wrestler), with honorable mentions to Nelly, Michael Irvin, Bill Goldberg, Steve Austin, Bill Romanowski & Brian Bosworth. Also, who could forget Chris Rock as Caretaker? This could not have been cast better.

Overall, A good comedy worth seeing. Especially if you are a Sandler fan.