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Title: The Longest Yard (2005)
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| 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 | |
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. Written by mystic80
In 1994, Peter Segal made his feature film directorial debut with NAKED GUN 33 1/3: THE FINAL INSULT, the hilarious concluding chapter of the NAKED GUN series. His follow-up was the even funnier TOMMY BOY in 1995, one of the best comedies of the 1990s. His next film, MY FELLOW Americans, was pretty funny but failed to generate the same number of laughs as his two previous films. Still, it seemed like Segal was destined to become one of the next great comedy directors. That is until 2000's NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS, a lame rehash of the 1996 remake. Since then, he's continued to direct pretty mediocre comedies like ANGER MANAGEMENT and 50 FIRST DATES so I had low expectations when I heard he was to direct the THE LONGEST YARD. Luckily, THE LONGEST YARD, his latest movie, is his best film since TOMMY BOY thanks to Segal's great comedic direction. In addition to handling the comedy well, he also does a fantastic job with the football scenes. In fact, I think it is safe to say that because of Segal's direction, THE LONGEST YARD is the best football film of the 2000s so far.
Anybody that knows me knows that if there is one type of movie I hate, it's remakes. There is no reason for them, making them pointless. However, for whatever reason, I actually enjoyed this one. From the great opening shot of a beautiful girl swimming in a pool to the very last shot of Warden Hazen (James Cromwell) getting Gatorade poured all over him, I found myself having a ball. It's just an all around fun film. Everyone does a great job with their roles (especially Sandler and Rock) and for an almost two hour movie, THE LONGEST YARD is fast-paced.
Still, THE LONGEST YARD has its fair share of problems. The rap sound track doesn't seem to fit the picture very well, some of the jokes fall pretty flat(i.e. most of the gay jokes), and there's not nearly as much character development as there was in the original. Despite these flaws, THE LONGEST YARD remains one of the highlights of 2005. Recommended.