The Replacements (2000)
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A professional football team is forced to field a roster of replacement players during a players' strike.
The story
When a professional football league is hit with a players' strike with four games left in the season, Washington Sentinels owner Edward O'Neil hires former coach Jimmy McGinty to lead a team of replacement players. McGinty assembles a diverse group of athletes with varying talents, including a former All-American quarterback living on a houseboat and a Welsh soccer player. The team faces hostility from striking players and must overcome internal friction and personal fears to compete. As they struggle to find their rhythm, the replacements must prove they can win three games to secure a playoff berth.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
During a players' strike with four games remaining, Washington Sentinels owner Edward O'Neil hires former coach Jimmy McGinty to lead a team of replacement players. McGinty recruits a motley crew, including Shane Falco, a former All-American quarterback whose career stalled after a Sugar Bowl loss, and Nigel Gruff, a Welsh soccer player. The team faces immediate hostility from striking players, who call them 'scabs.' After a disappointing first game against Detroit and a subsequent brawl with striking players, the replacements bond in jail. McGinty inspires the team to turn their fear of failure into strength, leading them to a victory against San Diego. However, tensions rise when O'Neil pressures McGinty to start the striking quarterback Eddie Martel against the defending champion Dallas team. Martel clashes with the replacements, causing the Sentinels to trail 17-0 at halftime. Seeing the team's struggle, Falco returns to the field and benches Martel. In a final, high-stakes game, the Sentinels rally to a 17-14 lead with less than a minute left. Falco throws a game-winning touchdown pass to the deaf tight end Brian Murphy as time expires, securing a playoff berth and personal glory for the replacements.
- First release year
- 2000
- Runtime (minutes)
- 118
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Howard Deutch
- Writers
- Vince McKewin · writer
- Cast and characters
- Keanu Reeves · Shane Falco #16 (QB); Gene Hackman · Coach Jimmy McGinty; Orlando Jones · Clifford Franklin #81 (WR); Brooke Langton · Annabelle Farrell; Rhys Ifans · Nigel Gruff #3 (K); Jon Favreau · Daniel "Danny" Bateman #56 (MLB); Jack Warden · Edward O'Neil
- Genres
- sports comedy
- Themes
- second chances; overcoming fear; teamwork
- Tone and mood
- comedic; inspirational
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; comedy; labor movement; underdog
- Source material / true-story basis
- loosely based on the 1987 NFL strike, specifically the Washington Redskins
- Reception
- The film received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, with a 41% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 30/100 score on Metacritic. However, it received a positive 'A−' grade from audiences on CinemaScore.
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in Baltimore, Maryland, using PSINet Stadium.; The movie features a controversy similar to the real-life Falco–Martel quarterback controversy.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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