Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...

In the interest of fairness, I thought I’d publish this brief look at the Adam Sandler-starring remake of one of the great tough guy comedies, since so many of the responses we’ve run so far have been so intensely negative:

Harry,

I also saw The Longest Yard the other day here in L.A., and I loved it. I don't usually send in reviews to you unless I whole-heartedly disagree with another reviewer, and this is one of those times.

I've never seen the original (although my screening companion had, and she loved it, too), so I can't compare it. But I can tell you that this is a nice twist on the old Sandler formula. Here he plays the straight man instead of playing a man-child. And while another reviewer thought the movie didn't know if it was serious or silly, I disagree. It starts out serious, then it gets a little silly, and a little more and a little more, until by the end it's everywhere and in your face. But it's this building momentum of silliness that makes the film work.

Does the film have trashy humor? Uh, yeah - have you seen a Sandler film? But most of the jokes hit their mark, as evidenced by the audience that I saw it with, which was laughing hysterically by the end.

I give Sandler an A, Burt a C+, Chris Rock a B, Tracy Morgan a B+. And the movie that I saw I'll give an A-. I think they'll trim it up a bit and it'll improve to a solid A. Mark my words - this will be the #1 film in the country for several weeks, and deservedly so.

For what it's worth,

Captain Friendly

So there you go. Maybe you’ll feel the same way Captain Friendly did. Or maybe you’ll just pick up the original on DVD when it’s released next month. But at least we gave this guy his say.

"Moriarty" out.