When a team of professional American Footballers go on strike the owners hire in replacements to play the final few games of the season.
This film is a comedy which was based on the 1987 professional American football players strike, where the players basically wanted even more money to play. I guess somethings don’t ever change in sport with players having totally ridiculous wages per week! The story in this film takes a more lighthearted look at this and we get the scab players, the replacements who are just normal guys now and become pro-football players for a few weeks.
Coach Jimmy McGinty wanted full power in who to bring in as his replacement players and goes through many players he knew from years ago those men who didn’t quite make it in becoming professionals. I guess you could even look at them as the misfits as well considering the background of the players. It does help to show though that you can make a team with the right attitude even from replacements, the difference for them was it was their only chance, nothing to really lose.
It gives us a chance to think about and look at the different types of players in American Football, not that I have a very good knowledge on the sport. But that can be transferred to all other sport and athletes really if you failed but are given another chance will you do everything possible to take it? That is what we see in this film, I think that is why I enjoyed it to be totally honest.
Keanu Reeves is Shane Falco and didn’t quite make it as a Quarter Back, the most important member of a Football team, you pretty much have to have a good one to win games, I am guessing. I thought he was great in the role and as a viewer you really want to see him succeed and be a star, even for just one game that would have been more than enough. We get a small love story as well, it fits in nicely doesn’t overpower everything else.
The treatment of the scabs by the on strike players was very harsh at times which included tipping a car on its side. Shouting abuse and more, when watching you struggle to understand the logic in all of that they are refusing to play so what do they really expect? In any job if you refuse to work someone else will be brought in to replace you, should pro sports really be any different? I guess it isn’t when you look at the whole transfer market in football (soccer).
I would say this film was a nice little hidden gem in the Sport genre of film which I found on Amazon Video available to view with Prime.
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