The recent remake of the classic 1974 Burt Reynolds football comedy, The
Longest Yard, comes to DVD as a Collector's Edition with a nice set
of special features sure to please fans. Directed by Peter Segal (Tommy
Boy, 50 First Dates, Anger Management) and starring Adam Sandler, Chris
Rock, Burt Reynolds, rap superstar Nelly and a slew of professional football
and wrestling stars, the film made modest money in theaters (roughly double
its $82 million budget) and turned out to be a not-too-shabby remake. Fans of
the original obviously have varying opinions, but those who did like this movie
should be pleased with this DVD release.
THE FILM
[NOTE: I have not seen the original. So, I have no basis of comparison. But
I hear that everyone who sees it loves it.]
Paul "Wrecking" Crewe (Sandler) is a former NFL star quarterback
and MVP, who was kicked out of the game after being indicted on Federal racketeering
charges in a point shaving scandal. After a nationally televised drunk driving
accident that violates his probation, Crewe is sent to prison. Warden Hazen
(James Cromwell) of the Texas Allenville Penitentiary specifically requests
Crewe to be assigned to his prison. Hazen's guards play in a semi-pro league
and haven't won a title in five years. Hazen brings Crewe in and asks him to
make the team better. Crewe suggests a scrimmage game for the guards that would
be played against an assembled team of convicts. Of course, the catch is the
cons have to lose. With the help of Caretaker (Chris Rock), the man who can
get you anything, and former football legend Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds),
Crewe assembles the team, which includes his star running back Earl Megget (Nelly),
and prepares them for the big game that is going to be televised on ESPN2.
On it's own, the updated The Longest Yard is a worthy movie
of at least one viewing. Despite the abundance of throwaway jokes, typical male
teenage humor and thinly developed stereotypical characters, it's certainly
more entertaining than the previous two Sandler-Segal works, 50 First
Dates and Anger Management. Helping balance the movie
and enhance the football theme is a long list of Pro Football and Wrestling
superstars, that actually show some good acting chops. The list includes: Bill
Goldberg, Steve Austin, Bill Romanowski, Kevin Nash, Brian Bosworth, Michael
Irvin, Terry Crews, Bob Sapp, Brandon Molale and the 7' 10" giant, Dalip
Singh. Obviously the best sequences are at the end of the film during the hard-hitting,
excellently shot final game. The cinematography used combines NFL Network game
coverage-style shots, as well as 1st person shots from the field. The movie
also contains a pretty decent soundtrack, a nice mix between rap (which I hate)
and rock 'n roll (which I love). Overall, the film is worth checking out - just
don't expect much more than action-packed brainless humor.
SOUND AND VISUALS The Longest Yard is presented in 2.35:1 Widescreen, enhanced
for 16x9 televisions. A pan-and-scan DVD is also available. Sound tracks are
English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English and French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround.
Subtitles are available in English and Spanish on both the film and the special
features. Overall, the sounds and visuals on the screen are crisp, clear and
more or less flawless.
PACKAGING AND LAYOUT The Longest Yard comes in the standard plastic case, with usual
artwork, write-up, special features and specs listings on front and back cover.
There's no booklet included.
Disc menus are nothing special (still graphics with music playing) and easy
to navigate. "Play," "Set Up," "Scene Selection"
and "Special Features" are main menu choices. The film is split into
20 chapters and runs 113 minutes.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The special features on The Longest Yard are rather fulfilling
and cover a wide range: behind-the-scenes making-of's and featurettes, deleted
scenes, bloopers and music videos. The only thing missing here, which oddly
enough has been advertised as being included, is an audio commentary for the
movie. Here is a look at what you get:
• First Down and Twenty-Five for Life – This is the traditional
making-of, comprised of cast and crew interviews from the set and footage from
both behind and in front of the camera. There's nothing that stands out here,
other than the longer-than-average length of 21 minutes. It's definitely worth
watching, despite the typical overdoing it high praise and flattery from all
parties to their colleagues.
• The Care & Feeding of Pro Athletes – This unique 5-minute
featurette takes a look at one of the more daunting tasks of this film's production:
feeding a bunch of football and wrestling stars. The caterers and big boys give
us a look at their eating habits on the set. Special attention is given to the
biggest guy of all, WWE star Dalip Singh.
• Lights, Camera, Touchdown! – This featurette examines the shooting
techniques used to film the final game. The creators wanted to use real-life
NFL game network coverage shots, while also presenting the 1st person on-the-field
point of view. A pretty cool and fitting featurette, it only runs about 5½
minutes.
• Extra Points with Commentary by Director Peter Segal – This bit
is a breakdown of the special effects in five scenes from the movie. Each one
is about 1 minute and the commentary for each is great. The only problem is
that some of these are actually too short.
• Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director Peter Segal –
There are 9 deleted and extended/alternate scenes in this section, each available
with commentary by Segal. They are fairly brief, clocking in at only 6 minutes
total. The commentary gives good explanations for the cuts and also tells of
the film’s original 3-hour length. They're worth breezing through; most
of them I think probably could have stayed in the film, especially the extra
Nash bits and the chicken dinner scene.
• "Errtime" Music Video – Nelly’s music video that
consists of mostly just a bunch of people standing around dancing, and a few
clips of the film. Snoop is chillin’ on the set.
• Here Comes the Boom – P.O.D.'s song abbreviated and set to hard-hitting
clips from the movie. Worth watching, but very short.
• Fumbles and Stumbles – This 4-minute collection of blunders and
gags has some funny moments in it and is worth checking out.
Previews are available for The Honeymooners, Beavis & Butthead:
The Mike Judge Collection, Hustle & Flow, Bad News Bears, The Oprah Winfrey
Show: 20th Anniversary Collection, The Longest Yard: Lockdown Edition
and the new UPN series Everybody Hates Chris.
GOING FOR IT
The new The Longest Yard may not live to be the classic that
the original was, but it certainly has merit in its own right. Though the humor
isn't exactly witty and sharp, you will find yourself chuckling throughout.
Overall, it’s certainly worth checking out. The Collector's Edition DVD
doesn’t really have "collector's edition" bonus features, but
does cover an impressive array of the film’s attributes. Bottom line:
Fans would do well with a purchase; for everyone else, I recommend a rental.
DVD Film Score: B
DVD Sounds and Visuals Score: A-
DVD Packaging and Layout Score: C
DVD Extras Score: B+ DVD Overall Score: B
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