Adam Sandler has been a box office draw for a decade now, with barely a dip in fortune since he first turned his break on Saturday Night television Live in a series of successful films. From the start, Sandler was good at jokes about sports, six-packs, and the need to stop doing stupid things and start playing nice with women. He achieved his success without the support of critics, many of whom seemed to find the brotherhood element of his film so horrifying that it inoculated them against its soft and silly aspects. Sandler is unlikely to care much about the opinions of festival-goers, although he did make them take notice with his seamless crossover with Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love (2002). “I wanted to work with Sandler so much,” Anderson said. “I love him… He always made me laugh.” Sandler's production, Happy Madison, revolves around his own hits; less when he produces - as if in a sadistical way - for his friend Rob Schneider (The Hot Chick, 2002, etc.). After a slightly rocky period at the start of the decade (notably Little Nicky, 2000 and Mr Deeds, 2002), Sandler re-established himself in the nine-figure grossing league with Anger Management (2003) and 50 First Dates (2004). ); and the director of those two films, Peter Segal, is also helming Sandler's remake of Robert Aldrich's The Longest Yard. Alas, this is Sandler's most formal outing yet, the most routine storyline he's yet committed to. Aldrich's 1974 original, with inmates pitted against their guards in a game of American football, has always been a playground favorite (and was revived in 2001 as Mean Machine); its cult does not tend to survive adolescence. But in 2005 it still offers the prospect of a decent audit...... middle of paper ......g, but Hazen's threats for non-compliance are worse. Crewe befriends black inmate Caretaker and together they begin searching for tall inmates willing, even if unqualified, to take on the guards. The roster is tricky, but Crewe gets a volunteer coach in another incarcerated NFL veteran, Nate Scarborough, and adds pace. by recruiting running back Megget and some initially suspicious black inmates. Hazen's spy Unger kills Caretaker with an incendiary device intended for Crewe. The match is broadcast live and the counters begin by taking physical revenge on the guards, losing 14-0 before Crewe rally them to level the score at half-time. Hazen threatens to frame Crewe for Caretaker's murder, and Crewe intentionally hesitates as the Guards take a three-touchdown lead. Realizing he must redeem himself, Crewe pushes the team to recover and win with a daring final play..