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The Replacements

year 2000decade 00sdirector Howard Deutchgenre Sports comedy
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Keanu Reeves Shane Falco
Gene Hackman Jimmy McGinty
Orlando Jones Clifford Franklin
Jon Favreau Bateman
Brooke Langton Annabelle
Faizon Love Jamal Abdul Jackson
Michael Taliferro Andre Jackson
Rhys Ifans Nigel Gruff
Ace Yonamine Jumbo Fumiko
Troy Winbush Walter Cochran
David Denman Brian Murphy
Michael Jace Earl Wilkinson / Ray Smith
Gailard Sartain Coach Pilachowski
Art LaFleur Coach Banes
Brett Cullen Eddie Martel
Archie L. Harris Jr. Wilson Carr
Evan Parke Malcolm LaMont
John Madden Himself
Pat Summerall Himself
Jack Warden Edward O’Neil
Keith David Lindell

The Replacements | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Van Lathanproducer Craig Horlbeck
Explore episodeClose episode

Most Rewatchable Scene

Final game and ending

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:33:15Read transcript
  • Jimmy recruiting Shane is a scene choice, with the Sugar Bowl humiliation and the dry answer that the score separates winners from losers.
  • Troy Smith’s Ohio State loss is offered as a real-life Falco comparison; LSU examples are left unnamed.
  • Annabelle’s reckless drive and refusal to date quarterbacks are mocked as arbitrary romantic setup.
  • Jimmy’s two-men speech before the first game is another scene choice, prompting a joke about the hosts beginning work together.
  • The huddle vomiting and Favreau literally retrieving the ball are scene choices that have become enjoyable with time.
  • Falco’s apparent winner leads to praise for Summerall innocently reading the former prisoner’s embroidery interest.
  • The bar fight and Annabelle helping Shane recover his truck are further scene candidates.
  • The quicksand speech is praised despite a comic imitation of Reeves's delivery. Its focus on failure applies to the players' lives beyond football, making the reaction montage effective; Favreau's character seems happier returning to police work.
  • The stripper cheerleaders distracting opponents into a penalty and the opposing coach's reaction are enjoyed.
  • The final twenty-five minutes are favored, including Martel's arrogant first half, Falco's halftime return, and the locker-room confrontation. Martel's get-out line is an immediate overacting candidate.
  • The opening establishes the film's labor politics, while the training montage efficiently introduces each player's talent and limitation.
  • Annabelle applying wild yam is read as showing that Shane’s romance will last beyond his football opportunity.
  • The pain-heals/chicks-dig-scars speech is praised as genuinely motivating.
  • The fake field goal is praised as a smart wrinkle, with Falco recognizing the kicker’s intent to miss; the penalty reversal and final winner make the ending the choice.
  • The final scene is reaffirmed as most rewatchable, with the opening also high on the list.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

No concussion protocol

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:09Read transcript
  • Intentional attacks on opponents and Good Vibrations in a celebration are Most2001 nominees.
  • Stickum is proposed but judged more characteristic of the1970s.
  • Stripper cheerleaders are another candidate, with a later defense promised.
  • The tight end returning immediately after a major hit, without concussion protocol, is the final choice. Old ESPN Jacked Up segments and Madden openings illustrate the era’s treatment of dangerous hits.

What’s Aged the Best?

Reeves; cheerleaders; labor perspective; announcers; football credibility

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:34Read transcript
  • Keanu Reeves is an aged-best choice.
  • The sex-worker cheerleaders are praised for comic energy and television-friendly spice, compared with turn-of-the-century media culture.
  • Changed sports-labor discussions are an aged-best theme. The hosts recall the lost promise of the 1994 baseball season, the 1999 NBA lockout, and a canceled hockey season as shifts in their relationship to sports.
  • Keith David as union leader is praised, with speculation that his brief role may have lost scenes in editing.
  • Orlando Jones’s football-as-gun celebration is praised and tentatively linked to The Last Boy Scout.
  • The blue Washington hats are praised as desirable merchandise.
  • Reeves reportedly took less money to enable Hackman's casting, prompting praise for his public reputation and jokes hoping he never disappoints fans; hypothetical misconduct is not a factual allegation.
  • The never-was insult aimed at Falco is praised for cutting deeply.
  • Madden and Summerall now provide nostalgic pleasure and football credibility, compared with Vin Scully in For Love of the Game; what once seemed like a cash-in has aged well.
  • The kicker smoking during games is praised for commitment to the gag.
  • Hoosiers jokes during Hackman’s coaching scenes are enjoyed.
  • The cheerleader paired with the deaf player is an aged-best choice.
  • Shane Footsteps Falco is praised as a nickname, interpreted through fear of sacks and compared with Jim Everett.
  • Reeves's athletic build and throwing motion make him credible at quarterback, with Scott Mitchell and Tua comparisons. A bad throwing clip from an unspecified Amanda Bynes movie is contrasted without identifying its actor.
  • Madden and Summerall's commentary over Shane approaching Annabelle, then blending into game coverage with Every Breath You Take, is praised as inventive. A supposed explicit deleted scene is clearly a joke.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Penalty flag enters frame during Falco’s apparent score

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:37Read transcript
  • Cinematic shot: the penalty flag enters the bottom of frame while Falco appears to score, resembling live game coverage rather than an isolated insert.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Old Ebert/Bill reviews; Gary Glitter; Michael Jace; coaches’ suits

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:24Read transcript
  • Ebert’s criticism of Madden and Summerall is rejected as an aged-worst take.
  • The earlier review calling Favreau’s performance career-ending is retracted; his later success and this performance are now appreciated.
  • The Gary Glitter song is an aged-worst choice because of the performer’s history.
  • The hosts discuss Michael Jace’s murder conviction as a disturbing contrast with his character’s fear of returning to prison.
  • A host recalls recognizing Jace while he was serving as an usher at an Oasis church on Wilshire.
  • Thick as Thieves is recommended in a tangent recalling Alec Baldwin, Michael Jai White, Janeane Garofalo, and Andre Braugher; some character details are tentative.
  • The host recalls having spoken with Jace and then learning of his arrest while working at TMZ. The segment’s proposed fun-fact title is rejected as inappropriate to its subject.
  • Coaches wearing suits is added as an aged-worst observation, with Mike Nolan's unsuccessful revival blamed for ending the look.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Adult stadium entertainment; more football movies; Nepo Ball

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:14Read transcript
  • Hot take: NFL stadiums should have adult-only areas with stripper entertainment, arguing that gambling and the sport's physical costs already make it adult-oriented; the proposal excludes putting performers in front of children.
  • Another hot take asks for more football movies, joking about a presidential initiative. A response argues that documentaries and greater knowledge of athletes have weakened older fictional archetypes, with Hustle as a modern example.
  • A proposed Nepo Ball movie follows a wealthy or connected bench player forced into meaningful minutes by injuries, raising nepotism questions. The pitch expands to a team of such players and possibly Bronny James, with Hoosiers' Ollie as an analogy.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:38Read transcript
  • More Black people: no, the ensemble is considered well represented.
  • Michael Jace is excluded from That Guy consideration.
  • Art LaFleur, the assistant coach compared with a heavier Ed O’Neill, is a candidate.
  • Brett Cullen is favored because he is recognized as Eddie Martel while his name and other roles are hard to recall.
  • Faizon Love is considered too recognizable as himself or Big Worm, though younger viewers may identify him with Elf.

Apex Mountain

Underwater trophy football; movies celebrating strikebreakers

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:26Read transcript
  • Reeves, Brooke Langton, Madden and Summerall, and Jack Warden are rejected for Apex; Melrose Place is preferred for Langton.
  • Throwing a trophy football underwater is an affirmative Apex choice.
  • Movies celebrating strikebreakers are an affirmative Apex choice.
  • Twenty-first-century football films lose to Friday Night Lights or Remember the Titans.

Cruise or Hanks?

Cruise

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:55Read transcript
  • Cruise wins as Shane Falco, though 1980s Hanks could work. The hosts predict greater box office with Cruise but question his throwing ability and height, imagining a small scrambling quarterback.

Just One Oscar

Nobody; Hackman if required

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:55Read transcript
  • One Oscar: no award is the preferred answer, with Hackman offered only if a choice must be made because he takes the material seriously.