In 1974, a sports comedy titled, “The Longest Yard” starring Burt Reynolds. It’s about a disgraced football player named, Paul Crewe. He’s sent to prison after stealing his girlfriend’s car while drunk. The warden gives Paul a chance to assemble a group of convicts as football players to compete against the guards in a football game. The Longest Yard earned praise and won a Golden Globe for “Best Musical or Comedy.” Thirty-One Years Later, Adam Sandler starred and produced a remake. Unlike the original, it received mixed reviews from critics. Regardless, the remake made enough money at the box office.
I’m gonna come clean. I never saw the original. I rewatched the remake when I was gearing up for the Super Bowl LVIII to get into the football mood. Anyway, Adam Sandler’s next movie, “Spaceman” will stream exclusively on Netflix. It’ll stream on February 23rd, 2024. Which is exactly Dakota Fanning’s 30th birthday.
Today’s review contains no SPOILERS. I’m giving y’all a chance to see the original or remake. It’s your call.
Winner & Loser Aspects
Winner: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Terry Crews, Nelly, Burt Reynolds, Tracy Morgan, Bob Sapp, Bill Goldberg, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, William Fichtner & James Cromwell all did a great job for their respective performances.
Fun Fact 1: “Madagascar” came out the exact same day as The Longest Yard. Both featuring Chris.
Fun Fact 2: Terry played Julius Rock from “Everybody Hates Chris.” A sitcom about Chris’ childhood.
Peter Segal (Tommy Boy, Anger Management, Get Smart) did a solid job directing.
Sheldon Turner (X-Men: First Class, Up in the Air) wrote the script.
Cinematography was shot carefully.
Paul’s chemistry with his teammates serves as the main highlight. His interactions with them move the story forward.
Humor has a bunch of funny moments filled with memorable lines that made me laugh so hard. My favorite part is the one with the inmates watching home videos. Ten times hilarious than these unfunny comedies from 2005. The home videos scene earns a tremendous amount of Bonus Points.
- Son of the Mask
- Chicken Little
- The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl
- Monster-In-Law
- Bewitched
- Dirty Love
- Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow
- Diary of a Mad Black Woman
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (sorry, I didn’t like it)
- Valiant
- Racing Stripes
- The Pacifier
- The Honeymooners
- Yours, Mine and Ours
- Rumor Has It
The Prison and football field are located in Texas. That’s the state I live in. I’m giving the remake an Extra Point for including Texas as the main setting. I’m a proud Texan.
Soundtrack features a mix of hip-hop and rock music. I like ’em both.
During Paul’s drunk driving, Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” is played in the background. It was also used in “Flushed Away.”
I’m giving this movie credit for introducing me to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”
My favorite line from the edited version is… “I think he broke his frickin neck!” I also like this quote… “You gotta always protect the McNuggets!”
Caretaker quotes a line from “Friday.” Coincidentally, Ice Cube starred in “Are We There Yet?” Another comedy from 2005.
The Longest Yard isn’t the only remake from 2005. This proves remakes were a trend back in 2005.
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- War of the Worlds
- Bad News Bears
- King Kong
- The Producers
- The Amityville Horror
- The Fog
- Herbie: Fully Loaded
- House of Wax
- Dark Water
- Yours, Mine and Ours
Somebody called Switoski, “Shrek.” It’s funny because Chris appeared in Madagascar. Both the former and latter were produced by DreamWorks Animation.
Courteney Cox & Allen Covert make brief appearances in the Opening Scene.
If you have a keen eye, Eminem’s hip-hop group, D12 appear as inmates.
Rob Schneider makes a cameo appearance as a spectator shouting, “YOU CAN DO IT!” A callback to “The Waterboy.”
Loser: I couldn’t find nothing wrong. I’m giving the cast and crew an Extra Point for making a flawless remake as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX
The Longest Yard remake is one of my favorite comedies growing up and it still holds up. If you’re looking for something that’ll make you laugh so hard, I strongly recommend this gem.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 
I think the “broke his frickin’ neck” edit was better than the “he just shit himself” original. The edited line was also used in the 1974 original.
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