The Longest Yard

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad, James Hampton, Harry Caesar, John Steadman, Charles Tyner, Mike Henry, Bernadette Peters, Richael Kiel
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sports
1974

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A former pro quarterback (Burt Reynolds) now is prison is forced into assembling a team of convicts to play a brutal game against the guards, who make up a semi-pro team.

Review:

Tim: The Longest Yard is a fairly fascinating film. It's a comedy, but it's also a brutal football movie. There's dramatic elements, and some legitimately exciting football action. It certainly requires some suspension of disbelief, but overall, this is an effective, memorable film.

Now, I never fully bought into the premise of the film. This hurts the movie a little, but it's mostly forgivable. The idea that a prison warden would sanction a football game between guards and convicts is a little farfetched, but the lengths this film goes to makes it even more ridiculous. Inviting a crowd to watch is one thing. The sheer brutality of the game is another- as player after player is carted off the field with gruesome injuries, you'd have to think any reasonably sane warden would call the game. Plus, the warden and the guards would realize the convicts have nothing to lose and would undoubtedly resort to violence. The whole thing doesn't make a lot of sense. However, that doesn't stop it from being really entertaining. The movie goes a good job of portraying the guards as the bad guys and the prisoners as the good guys. This is fairly humorous because the convicts are all in for some heinous crimes. The story does highlight the violence and in some cases, murder that landed these people in prison. However, there's a different culture inside the walls. The guards are brutal and unforgiving and the prisoners are the victims. In that setting, the prisoners become the underdogs and it's impossible not to root for them. They lead mostly hopeless lives, so we get caught up in the game and their one chance at vengeance. So, when the quarterback heaves back and throws the ball directly into the crotch of a guard, we cheer (even though we shouldn't). The movie works because we suspend our disbelief and we accept the culture of the prison. We root for the dregs of society against the people hired to protect the world from them. It's topsy turvy, but it works.

Of course, a big reason why this is all possible is because we genuinely like Burt Reynolds. Yes, he's in prison, but it's for a fairly innocuous crime. This allows him to be "better" than the other prisoners, while at the same time being rebellious enough to be believable. The story is really about his journey and it's one that's worth taking. It helps that Reynolds gives an effortlessly charismatic performance. He thinks he's better than everyone around him but he has just enough charm that we don't fault him for it. The role really leveraged all of Reynolds' strengths. Eddie Albert does a great job as the Warden. I understand he was playing against type, which is surprising because of how effective he is. He makes a worthwhile adversary and antagonist. James Hampton is one of the critical cast members. His role isn't huge, but he makes a lasting impact on the film. So much of the emotional aspects of the film come from his lovable, funny performance. I really loved him in this role. The rest of the supporting cast is all strong as well. It was fun to see Bernadette Peters in a small role (and bringing some much needed femininity to the film). I wish she made more to do, but she's good. Really, all the cast members work well in their roles.

The film's football scenes are quite effective. Although I groaned at the ludicrous desire to make this feel like a "real" football game, it still worked within the context of the film. The stolen jerseys, the refs, the crowd- it didn't make a lot of sense, but it was still fun to watch. It was interesting to see how violent the final game was, given that this is also a comedy. The juxtaposition worked. We laugh, but the violence and brutality of the game of football are on full display. The football scenes were exciting and believable. That's a big reason why this movie works. It might be a comedy, but it takes the football scenes incredibly seriously.

The Longest Yard is a very effective football movie. So many elements of the film are different than the typical football film. The prison setting, the violence, it all makes this feel fresh and unique within the sub-genre. You could argue that the film glorifies violence (you wouldn't be wrong), but I still had a lot of fun with this effective film. It's also impressive that this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing. That's one data point, but it helps show this is more than the typical football flick.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: North Dallas Forty, Smokey and the Bandit