The Longest Yard

Does anyone really believe Sandler as a QB? Well, in this remake of the more brutal 1974 original, Sandler is ex-pro Paul 'Wrecking' Crewe, who's stuck in a Texas federal pen that also houses one-time college football legend Nate Scarborough (Reynolds, who formerly played the QB). The football-obsessed warden (Cromwell) okays a televised game that pits Paul and his woeful cons against the bone-crunching guards (many cameos by ex-jocks). Motor-mouthed Rock makes a relatively brief appearance as a prison fixer and game day takes up a big part of the movie's running time. The comedy's been amped up, the pace is brisk, and Sandler is actually tolerable, but none of that makes up for doing it in the first place.