The Replacements

Despite being nearly old enough to drive (the film was released in theaters in 2000), The Replacements hadn't been available on Blu-ray until now. Based very loosely on the 1987 NFL strike, the script by Vince McKewin centered around a ragtag group of replacement players for the Washington Sentinels (a fictional stand-in for the Redskins). Keanu Reeves stars as college star and NFL bust Shane Falco who is given a second chance by Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) who assembles his team from a hodgepodge of unknowns.

Playing on various underdog themes The Replacements isn't that far removed from a number of sports movies (most notable Necessary Roughness which follows a very similar plot at the college level). Joining Reeves on the football field are Jon Favreau (as the character most likely to kill someone on the field), Orlando Jones (as the bigmouth wide receiver), Faizon Love, Michael Jace, Michael Taliferro, David Denman, and Rhys Ifans.

Brooke Langton (who has never looked better on film) stars as Falco's love interest and the team's head cheerleader who (for reasons left unexplained) must also restaff the squad which she fills with local strippers (Sarah Ann Morris, Caroline Keenan, Laura L. Cottrel, Amber Dulski, Mieko Hillman, Milinda A. Jefferson, Renee Latimore, Elisa Jacobs, Emily Roberts).

The Replacements isn't high art but it has charm and some respectable on-the-field football scenes which usually grab me when I happen upon it on cable every now and then. It's more than just a guilty pleasure, in spite of a by-the-book plot. The new Blu-ray includes the rather basic extras previously released on DVD (trailer, two short featurettes, and commentary by director Howard Deutch) without any money spent on remastering the film for Blu-ray meaning there's no reason to upgrade if you already own the film on DVD.

[Warner Home Video, $14.97]