Tackles You When You Least Expect It
THE LONGEST YARD

RATING: C+

Starring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, James Cromwell, Nelly, William Fichtner and Burt Reynolds. Music by Teddy Castellucci, Costume Designer Ellen Lutter, Film Editor Jeff Gourson, Production Designer Perry Andelin Blake, Director of Photography Dean Semler, Produced by Jack Giarraputo, Based on the screenplay by Tracy Keenan Wynn, From a story by Albert S. Ruddy, Screenplay by Sheldon Turner, Directed by Peter Segal.

Rated PG-13, Running Time 100 mins., 2.40 to 1 Anamorphic Scope Aspect Ratio.

As long as audiences continue to pay to see remakes, Hollywood will continue to crank them out and "The Longest Yard" is no exception. Adam Sandler fans will no doubt enjoy his latest venture and contribute to the money making machine, but surprisingly, this one's a mindless piece of entertainment that actually entertains. Sandler, who in my opinion is an incredible dramatic actor, treats this classic material with respect and a bit of seriousness. That doesn't mean he restrains himself from occasionally using bathroom humor, but the rapid-fire barrage of jokes and comedic (as well as physical) support from an unlikely cast of actors make it difficult for anyone not to smile.

Sandler takes over Burt Reynolds' legendary role of quarterback Paul Crewe who finds he's serving a three-year sentence in a maximum security prison after "borrowing" his girlfriend's car. The drunken wild goose chase he takes police on leads to massive property damage, but that's the least of his problems. Sandler isn't warmly received by the prison population due to his role in a point shaving scandal and the guards happen to be more sadistic than the prisoners. Even more threatening is the warden (James Cromwell) who wants Sandler to participate in his extracurricular activities. Cromwell is no Eddie Albert, but his oily Southern charm makes him a decent nemesis for Sandler. Threatening to make Sandler's prison stay difficult, the warden wants him to train a group of inmates to play against his semi-pro team of guards. Cromwell sees the event as free publicity for his shot at running for governor, but Sandler discovers it’s an opportunity to get even.

Sandler makes fast friends with his old SNL chum Chris Rock as Caretaker, the guy who has the prison "wired" and eventually becomes his right hand man. But recruiting players isn't gonna be easy so a little help from Burt Reynolds himself proves to be fruitful. It’s nice to see that Reynolds' role as former player turned Coach Nate Scarborough is more than a cameo and when Reynolds literally walks on screen and just starts talking you feel a splash of life has been added to the picture.

To take down a team of guards that consists of menacing Captain William Fichtner, wrestlers Steve Austin and Kevin Nash and former pro-players Bill Romanowski and Brian Bosworth (who looks liked he's turned from tough guy star of "Stone Cold" to a fat guy from "Cold Stone Creamery") Sandler will need a group that's even meaner. He doesn't have to look any further than World Champion wrestler Bill Goldberg, big and cuddly kickboxer Bob Sapp, monstrous Indian wrestler Dalip Singh and former NFL pro Terry Crews who continues to steal scenes just as he did in last summer's "White Chicks".

Sandler may get some embarrassing cheerleader support from SNL alum Tracy Morgan and his group of transvestite inmates, but the heart of the team belongs to running back Nelly and former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irwin in a wonderfully dignified role. Sandler's team does consist of the occasional comic relief fat guy or oddball like Nicholas Turturro, but what works is how he must earn their respect, particularly a rough game of one-on-one in which Irwin hands his ass to him. Now that he's assembled his version of the "Mean Machine" its time for Sandler and his team to kick ass in typical Hollywood comedic vehicle fashion.

Sandler teamed with director Peter Segal on previous hits "Anger Management" and "50 First Dates" and although "The Longest Yard" is nowhere near as torturous as those films it isn't a perfect summer comedy either. The story is completely predictable and the jokes seem to be timed to come at you at least twice a minute, but the fun of the film is the camaraderie between the characters. Segal was smart enough to realize that teaming up Sandler with Rock wouldn't be enough. He'd have to surround him with a cast of memorable individuals. That's what keeps the humor fresh, the fact that it doesn't completely rest on Sandler's shoulders and rotates amongst the cast. Although this is a comedy its nice for a change to see Sandler relax and be able to handle the dramatic scenes as the straight man without worrying if he isn't being funny enough. It gives his verbal face offs with a dramatic actor like Cromwell more believability.

Chris Rock has never been as funny on film as his stand-up routine and even though this picture is no exception, his chemistry with Sandler is probably the best screen work he's ever done. The highlights of the film's humor include contraband smuggler Terry Crews constantly (and impossibly) pulling out McDonald's cheeseburgers from underneath his clothing, Bob Sapp's childlike behavior and Cloris Leachman's force of nature performance as Cromwell's over-sexed (and over-aged) secretary. I particularly enjoyed prison guard Kevin Nash's performance as he becomes more sensitive after Sandler and crew sneakily switch his steroid pills with estrogen. Not all of the jokes like these work, in fact some of them fall rather flat and makes one roll their eyes. But a lot of the humor hits on target and covers up the fact that the football game sequences fail to work. Still I was surprised how much I was entertained and given the hope that maybe there is fun to look forward to in the summer movie season after Star Wars.