The Longest Yard

Everyone involved with this remake claims the utmost respect for Robert Aldrich's raucously funny 1974 original. So you have to wonder why they crapped all over it, starting with the casting.

Homophobia, sexism, racism, ageism and OJ-ism pound against genre clich (C)s as weathered as Reynolds' skin, bludgeoning you into submission.

Adam Sandler, of course, is no Burt Reynolds. But then neither is Burt Reynolds these days, judging by his performance as the team's crusty mentor.

Segal's version is no sports-film watershed, either, but it is consistently entertaining, athletically brutal, and, more often than not, well-acted.

Glossy where the original was gritty and raw, silly where the original was scabrous, cartoonish where the original was dangerous and threatening, it aims only to be a lark.

So I'm sure it will come as a surprise when I say the star's latest is a fun, amusing and pretty darn funny (if ultimately not entirely successful) comedy.

Populated by one-note stereotypes and reliant on one-dimensional action.

Won't win any awards but it's another growth film for Sandler.

This remake of the 1974 sports comedy-drama The Longest Yard is hardly a classic. But then again, neither was the original Burt Reynolds-starring version.

Unlike the original, this version lacks that gritty edge that made it so effective.