The Replacements
It’s rare to find a sports comedy movie that is unpredictable, and 2000’s The Replacements is certainly not that movie. Watching it feels like slipping into a pair of warm, old slippers – you know it’s going to be comfortable and familiar, and that it will generate a feeling of warm, fuzziness deep inside. Having Keanu Reeves in the lead role only adds to that sensation because, for audiences, he feels like a known quantity.
His role as Shane Falco – a failed quarterback drawn back onto the field to lead a team of amateurs when the professional players go on strike – is clichéd, but well-executed. It gives Reeves the chance to do the thing he does best outside of action movies – bring the comedy within an equally talented ensemble cast.
He delivers exactly what is required to perpetuate the sensation of watching a team grow. As previously mentioned, this is a film that, more often than not, has him as the ‘straight-man’ – reacting to the comic behaviour of fellow castmates, such as Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Rhys Ifans and Orlando Jones. His portrayal of an older player fumbling his way through leading a team provides flashes of fantastic comic skill, however. Nowhere near enough, but flashes nonetheless. Just enough to let us know that the comedy potential of Reeves is still there – bubbling away beneath the surface.