Goodbye to a Great: A Two Month Celebration of the Late Great Gene Hackman kicks off with a sports comedy full of heart
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One of the all-time greats on screen passed away rather tragically in February. An undeniable talent that could play any type of role in any type of film and do so convincingly. From comedy to action to drama and everything in between, we decided just a month wouldn’t be enough. Nearly 2 months of Gene Hackman films and we’re barely scraping the surface… but we hope you enjoy this wide array of selections and we invite you to join in with your thoughts on these films and the legacy of a truly incredible actor.
The Pick:
“Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory lasts forever.” – Shane Falco
An early 2000s sports comedy with some decent laughs and a ton of heart, The Replacements is a Keanu Reeves vehicle that’s soaked in the tropes of sports comedies, rom-coms, and the early oughts. Despite being carried by Reeves and filled with familiar faces, it’s hard to picture this film’s eponymous ragtag strike season football squad without the gruff leadership of one Coach Jimmy McGinty, played by our man of the hour.
Starting here with The Replacements and proceeding through all types of genres and tones, by the time we wrap you’ll see why we couldn’t even begin to cover Hackman in a mere month!
The Team
Spencer Brickey
Gene Hackman, as we’ll see over the next two months here, was easily one of the most versatile actors that ever graced the silver screen. A true master of the craft, Hackman could easily be charming, frightening, pitiful, funny, or any other type you needed him to be.
In The Replacements, we see Hackman in one of my all time favorite character types of his; mentor. Playing formerly retired coach Jimmy McGinty, he’s tasked with cobbling together a football team during an organization-wide strike. He not only needs the team that can play together, but can win together.
A film that on the surface is a kinda goofy sports film (no shade; any film that has an ASL blowjob offers and an egg puking sumo wrestler is a fun time at the movies in my book!), Hackman brings gravitas to the whole affair, playing McGinty as a weathered, but kind hearted soul. He is what we probably all wish our fathers were like; stern but fair, tough but compassionate, and dropping wisdom that somehow never sounds hokey when it comes from his mouth. When we have the 3rd act call-to-action, where Hackman repeats “we need heart” to a camera crew on the sidelines, almost any other actor would make a corny meal out of it. Not Hackman, though; it’s a quick, knowing moment, but it still worked like gangbusters for me.
He even gets in a little fire and brimstone there. When Quarterback and dickhead-of-the-century Eddie Martel (played to slimy perfection by Brett Cullen) decides to start throwing the final game, and insulting his teammates, Hackman turns on the heat, shouting the cocky diva down, reminding us that he can be terrifying when he needs to be.
I’d never put The Replacements as a top Hackman performance, but that is only because the man pretty much only put in A level performances across the board. What this is is a fun little relic of the early 2000’s that might star Keanu Reeves in his hunk era, but is totally anchored by Hackman’s tough but fair Coach McGinty.
Frank Calvillo
Watching Gene Hackman come onto the screen in The Replacements for the first time was jarring in a way I hadn’t counted on. Even though he’d been away from acting for just over two decades, there was something always so comforting about the fact that he was off somewhere writing his books and living his life. Because of this, I found it hard to watch his scenes here. Yet, with every Hackman performance, it was impossible to do anything but give him your complete attention whenever he was on the screen.
There’s no pretending that The Replacements (which is maybe the most 2000 movie that ever 2000’d) is a showcase for Keanu Reeves, who helped temper the aloofness many of his previous characters had trouble shaking in up until this point. Shane presents the opportunity for audiences to experience a more humanized Reeves and the pathos he gives to a character presented with another chance. He plays the material with just the right notes, escaping the screenplay’s more obvious trappings and honing in on what makes a story like The Replacements invigorating and inspiring.
I don’t often think about Jimmy McGinty in the same way I think about other Hackman roles from this, his final era in film. This is partly to do with the fact that the year after was such a great late-career boom for the actor, but also because The Replacements doesn’t really feature him in any particularly memorable way. As written, the role feels like any seasoned actor could play it, and, because of this, Hackman has little to do other than just move to whatever rhythm the screenplay decides it wants to play. There’s no real opportunity to make this former coach, whose returned to the sport he loves, uniquely his own. Don’t get me wrong, any performance the actor ever gave was always worth watching, regardless of what he had or, as in the case here, didn’t have to work with. He’s good in this movie. But he’s only good because Gene Hackman was always good.
Austin Vashaw
This was my first viewing of The Replacements and I had a great time with it. I’m a casual sports fan at best, but I tend to enjoy great sports movies and this certainly qualifies.
For me it hits a certain sweet spot among sport movies that I particularly enjoy. Like The Longest Yard, Major League, Eddie, and the junior equivalent The Mighty Ducks, it’s got a bit of an edge to it, but heaps of heart, which just strikes a great balance with the irreverent tone. The cast is terrific and there are noticeably some recognizable actors who have gone on to bigger things.
Gene Hackman is really fun to watch in this, and I was kind of taken aback by his demeanor. I tend to think of him as usually being kind of gruff, and even in real life we’ve heard how he could be cantankerous and difficult to work with. But his coach here is just a standup, encouraging guy who’s all big smiles and encouragement for his makeshift team of scrappy underdogs. It’s a fun and surprisingly warm way to remember Gene, and also a challenge to the stodgy perception that he was only a serious actor for serious roles.
Justin Harlan
I initially was going to kick us off with Get Shorty, another favorite comedic role of this legend, but was pushed by Austin to lean into my favorite comedy with Hackman instead. While the film geek in me leans towards Get Shorty, I can’t deny that The Replacements is such a stronger rewatch for me, due to nostalgia, the uplifting story of underdogs, and a few legitimately laugh out loud moments.
While others here note that it’s their first rewatch in “ages”, I watch this one every few years. It seems like it’s always on TNT when I’m traveling for work and watching hotel cable… and it’s a welcome addition to such trips. There’s so much heart and the fun-loving cast of misfits in uniform are wildly inviting, whether their beating asses in a barroom brawl, giving heartfelt speeches, or puking in the huddle.
An older Hackman portrays a grizzled veteran coach named Jimmy McGinty… and does so very convincingly. While he’s not asked to do much, everything he does is pitch perfect. I’m always particularly touched when he has has his short halftime interview during the final game in the film. He’s asked what the team needs to facilitate a comeback and he just taps his chest and says “heart”. It serves as a batcall to Keanu’s Shane Falco, who – of course – shows up to save the day.
Even in a seemingly simple role, Hackman elevates everything he touches and it’s hard to imagine this movie working so well without him.
Goodbye to a Great: TWO CENTS Celebrates Gene Hackman
To make the passing of a cinematic legend, we at Cinapse are putting together a titanic selection of some of the late Gene Hackman’s biggest and best performances. From sports dramas to military thrillers to bone-fide classics, here’s a list of what we’re watching:
Later This Week – The Poseidon Adventure – (Prime Video – 1 Hour 57 minutes)
April 21 – Unforgiven – (Paramount + – 2 hours 10 minutes)
April 28 – Crimson Tide – (Digital Rental / Purchase – 1 hour 56 minutes)
May 5 – The Conversation – (Prime Video – 1 hour 53 minutes)
May 12 – Enemy of the State – (Prime Video – 2 hours 12 minutes)
May 19 – The Royal Tenenbaums – (Digital Rental / Purchase – 1 hour 50 minutes)
And We’re Out.
