History Film / TheLongestYard

* GuyOnGuyIsHot: The prisoners burst into cheers watching camera footage of Brucie getting intimate with one of the effeminate male prisoners.

%%* BigGame

%%* TheDragon: Captain Knauer to the Warden.

%%* PsychopathicManchild: Turley in the remake.

%%* RichBitch: Lena.

* KarmaHoudini: Unger in the original. In the remake, not only does he get charged for the murder of Caretaker, but it is implied that all of the players (especially Switowski) will deliver a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to him once they learn where he's being hidden.

** We have another former football player in Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, whose character takes a '''HARD''' clothesline during the final game, which was [[WrestlerInAllOfUs just another day at the office]] in his previous line of work. [[note]]For [[GeniusBonus bonus points]], Austin's character is carried off in a neck brace, and Switowski's line of "I think I made him shit himself" (and the accompanying echoes[=/=]replies) in the remake is changed from the original's "I think I broke his fucking neck." An in-ring neck injury was what precipitated Austin's early retirement from pro wrestling, which probably had a lot to do with why Austin was available to play the role in the first place. And Austin, like his character, did actually shit himself in a match once, though it's hard to blame him considering it was against '''Wrestling/{{Yokozuna}}'''.[[/note]]

* EveryoneHasStandards: The spectators and commentators are appalled by the flagrant and uncalled fouls the guards inflict on the inmates.

* AdaptationNameChange: Knauer's first name is Wilhelm in '74 film and is renamed Brian in the '05 remake.

** Only one black player (other than Switowski) agrees to play in the game at the start (near the middle) of the film. The guards see this one player (Earl Meggett, played by rapper Nelly) as a major threat and taunt him with racist comments and other bullying while he cleans up in the library, hoping he will strike a guard and not be able to play. However, upon witnessing the guards going so far as to call Meggett ([[ItMakesSenseInContext and Malcolm X]]) a nigger, Cheeseburger Eddy and Deacon Moss decide to join Meggett in the name of revenge, thus giving Crewe a much better chance of winning than he'd had with just Meggett.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: When the guards learn that the best offensive player on Crewe's team is Megget, they try to provoke him into attacking them by using racial slurs and thus be unable to play. When Megget doesn't budge, the other black inmates, who are speedy and athletic, especially Deacon Moss, join the team.

* SexySurfacingShot: In the credirs, there are various brief, underwater MaleGaze shots of a bikini-clad FanserviceExtra swimming in a pool, with the camera zooming in on her butt as she climbs out of the pool.

* UpToEleven: Switowski, a very large, very strong inmate who's more GentleGiant than ScaryBlackMan (see ScaryBlackMan above), participates in a strength drill in which the inmates run full force into a heavy bag, attempting to move it as much as possible. Most of the inmates can move it somewhat, but none of them stand out. Switowski lines up, charges at the bag, rips it off the chain, then carries it for about three or four more steps as the entire structure collapses behind him.
--> '''Caretaker:''' ''[he and Crewe are scoring each inmate on a scale of 1-10, and no player had yet received more than a 5]'' I think that's a ten.
--> '''Crewe:''' Let's go with a ten.

[[FallenHero Former NFL quarterback Paul "Wrecking" Crewe]], who had been kicked out of football for shaving points off a game, finds himself on the wrong side of the law and is sent to a state penitentiary (Citrus State Prison in the original film, Allenville in the remake). The prison is known for having a semi-pro football team made up entirely of prison guards, but their team has fallen on hard times. The warden (Eddie Albert in the original and Creator/JamesCromwell in the remake) wants Crewe to help turn things around, by assembling a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits team made up of fellow inmates]] to serve as a tune-up game for the guards.

* BigGame

* CripplingTheCompetition: the warden orders Crewe give the guards a 14-point advantage or he will frame him for involvement in a murder. Crewe agrees provided the warden will have the guards not injure the prisoners. The warden agrees, then double crosses Crewe by later telling the head of the guards once they have a 21-point advantage to "inflict as much physical punishment on the prisoners as humanly possible."

However, in-universe, when both teams take the field, the crowd watching the game gives the guards' team a standing ovation and boos the convicts. Thus, from their perspective, DarkIsEvil (or LightIsGood) is being played straight.

* TheDragon: Captain Knauer to the Warden.

** Although it appears the the inmates are all well aware that he's doing this (except for the [[spoiler: bomb]] part). Crewe even requests that the warden keep Unger off the cons' practice field. It doesn't go well.

* PsychopathicManchild: Turley in the remake.

** Burt Reynolds, who starred in the original, as Nate Scarborough in the remake-- an unusually large part for this trope. He even wears #22, the same jersey number he wore in the original.

* ShutUpHannibal: After winning the game, two of the inmates dump a cooler full of Gatorade on Warden Hazen's head to celebrate. He threatens them both with a week in "The hotbox". Their response? [[PrecisionFStrike "Who gives a shit?!"]]

---> '''Paul:''' What about the love of a beautiful woman?
---> '''Caretaker:''' Well, you're gonna have to lower your standards on the "beautiful" part, and on the "woman" part. ''[points to the "girls" table (all effeminate male inmates, one of whom smiles, waves lovingly and says "Heeeeey.")]''
---> '''Paul:''' Let's just stick with the cheeseburgers.
---> '''Caretaker:''' Oh, they ugly now, but in eight months, she gonna look like Beyonce.
---> '''Paul:''' No, thanks.

There is a British remake titled ''Mean Machine'' starring Creator/VinnieJones and Creator/JasonStatham and centers around football/soccer. It's notable in that it's one of Statham's few non-action roles and one where he plays an outright lunatic rather than his usual strong and silent characters.

* CampGay: Bradley, who loved Charlie's underwear commercials and thinks he's in love after the car chase scene at the beginning of the film.

** We have another former football player in Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, whose character takes a '''HARD''' clothesline during the final game, which was [[WrestlerInAllOfUs just another day at the office]] in his previous line of work. [[note]]For [[GeniusBonus bonus points]], Austin's character is carried off in a neck brace, and Switowski's line of "I think I made him shit himself" (and the accompanying echoes[=/=]replies) in the remake is changed from the original's "I think I broke his fucking neck." An in-ring neck injury was what precipitated Austin's early retirement from pro wrestling, which probably had a lot to do with why Austin was available to play the role in the first place. And Austin, like his character, did actually shit himself in a match once.[[/note]]

** Ed Lauter, who played the original Captain Knauer, has a cameo as Warden Hazen's golfing buddy who's proud that his wife once had a fling with Crewe.

* SquashMatch: A discussed non-wrestling example, even if a part of the cast of the remake consisted of [[ProfessionalWrestling wrestling superstars]]. When the warden threatens to extend Paul's sentence if he doesn't offer any advice as to how his guards can win their league's championship, Paul recommends a "tune up" game. Paul explains to the warden that his top tiered university's football team would start their season by playing against a bottom of the rung team, and "beat the shit out of them" as a way to boost the team's spirit. Which is when the warden gets the idea that Paul would coach the inmates' team for the guards' "tune up" game. At the end, it [[spoiler: is [[AvertedTrope Averted]], since Paul decides risking a longer sentence by rallying the inmates and giving the guards a painful defeat by a team that was supposed to be pathetically weak.]]

* ScaryBlackMan: Half the team but is Subverted in the remake by Switowski (Bob Sapp) who's more of a GentleGiant[=/=]ManChild.

* SquashMatch: A discussed non-wrestling example, even if a part of the cast of he remake consisted of [[ProfessionalWrestling wrestling superstars]]. When the warden threatens to extend Paul's sentence if he doesn't offer any advice as to how his guards can win their league's championship, Paul recommends a "tune up" game. Paul explains to the warden that his top tiered university's football team would start their season by playing against a bottom of the rung team, and "beat the shit out of them" as a way to boost the team's spirit. Which is when the warden gets the idea that Paul would coach the inmates' team for the guards' "tune up" game. At the end, it [[spoiler: is [[AvertedTrope Averted]], since Paul decides risking a longer sentence by rallying the inmates and giving the guards a painful defeat by a team that was supposed to be pathetically weak.]]

* AscendedExtra: Downplayed with "The Girls". In the original, there are a group of transvestites who only appear at the climactic game performing a song along with inmates in makeup and short-shorts who act as cheerleaders. They're reimagined and given marginally bigger roles in the 2005 remake [[QueerPeopleAreFunny mostly as comic relief]] appearing sporadically throughout the film, and are in full head-to-toe drag as cheerleaders during the big game.

-->'''Brucie:''' ''[as he's about to kick off towards the end of the game]'' Jesus Christ, my savior... if you help me out with this one, I promise to stop cheating on my wife with black guys. Amen.

--> '''Paul:''' What about the love of a beautiful woman?
--> '''Caretaker:''' Well, you're gonna have to lower your standards on the "beautiful" part, and on the "woman" part. ''[points to the "girls" table (all effeminate male inmates, one of whom smiles, waves lovingly and says "Heeeeey.")]''
--> '''Paul:''' Let's just stick with the cheeseburgers.
--> '''Caretaker:''' Oh, they ugly now, but in eight months, she gonna look like Beyonce.
--> '''Paul:''' No, thanks.

* AscendedExtra: Downplayed with "The Girls". In the original, there are a group of transvestites who only appear at the climactic game performing a song along with inmates in makeup and short-shorts who act as cheerleaders. They're given marginally bigger roles in the 2005 remake, [[QueerPeopleAreFunny mostly as comic relief]] who sporadically appear throughout the film, and are in full head-to-toe drag as cheerleaders during the big game.

* AscendedExtra: Downplayed with "The Girls". In the original, there are a group of transvestites who only appear at the climactic game performing a song along with inmates in makeup and short-shorts who act as cheerleaders. They're given marginally bigger roles in the 2005, [[QueerPeopleAreFunny mostly as comic relief]], and are in full head-to-toe drag as cheerleaders during the big game.

* AscendedExtra: Downplayed with "The Girls". In the original, there are a group of transvestites who only appear at the climactic game performing a song along with inmates in makeup and short-shorts who act as cheerleaders. They're given a marginally bigger roles in the 2005, [[QueerPeopleAreFunny mostly as comic relief]], and are in full head-to-toe drag as cheerleaders during the climax.

** Samson is renamed Switowski.

* AwardBaitSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC9O1giT2Ws Fly Away by Nelly]] at the end credits.

** To say nothing of the other gay inmates.

* CompositeCharacter: A few of the inmates in the remake are amalgamations of inmates from the original. Swatowski, for instance, is a combination of Sonny and Samson

* RaceLift: Caretaker and Switowski are white in the original and black in the remake.

** Racial slurs seem to be this for Swatowski since he nearly takes Dunham's head off with a clothesline when Megget tells him that Dunham had called him a "nigger".
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Normally, Swatowski's as nice as they come, especially when compared to the other convicts on his team. However, when he gets mad, he'll break your damn neck.

* DumbMuscle: Sonny Tanner in the original, and Swatowski in the remake

* {{Expy}}: Swatowski is clearly one of John Coffey from ''Film/TheGreenMile'' in that both are enormous, muscular but kind hearted manchildren.

* GentleGiant: Swatowski is generally a big teddy bear when not playing football. The only time he intentionally hurts someone is when he clotheslines Dunham during the big game. [[AssholeVictim He absolutely deserved it, though.]]

** Only one black player (other than Swatowski) agrees to play in the game at the start (near the middle) of the film. The guards see this one player (Earl Meggett, played by rapper Nelly) as a major threat and taunt him with racist comments and other bullying while he cleans up in the library, hoping he will strike a guard and not be able to play. However, upon witnessing the guards going so far as to call Meggett ([[ItMakesSenseInContext and Malcolm X]]) a nigger, Cheeseburger Eddy and Deacon Moss decide to join Meggett in the name of revenge, thus giving Crewe a much better chance of winning than he'd had with just Meggett.

** Also from the remake is Guard Dunham. While all the guards are shown to be complete jerks to the inmates, Dunham is a racist bigot who mocks Meggett with the n-word knowing he can't fight back. This makes it very satisfying to see him get clotheslined by Swatowski in the big game.

** Burt Reynolds, who starred in the original, as Nate Scarborough in the remake-- an unusually large part for this trope. He even wears #22, the same number jersey he wore in the original.
** Ed Lauter, who played the guard captain in the original, has a cameo as Warden Hazen's golfing buddy who's proud that his wife once had a fling with Crewe

* ScaryBlackMan: Half the team but is Subverted in the remake by Swatowski (Bob Sapp) who's more of a GentleGiant[=/=]ManChild.

* UpToEleven: Swatowski, a very large, very strong inmate who's more GentleGiant than ScaryBlackMan (see ScaryBlackMan above), participates in a strength drill in which the inmates run full force into a heavy bag, attempting to move it as much as possible. Most of the inmates can move it somewhat, but none of them stand out. Swatowski lines up, charges at the bag, rips it off the chain, then carries it for about three or four more steps as the entire structure collapses behind him.

* SquashMatch: A non-wrestling example, even if a part of the cast of he remake consisted of [[ProfessionalWrestling wrestling superstars]]. When the warden threatens to extend Paul's sentence if he doesn't offer any advice as to how his guards can win their league's championship, Paul recommends a "tune up" game. Paul explains to the warden that his top tiered university's football team would start their season by playing against a bottom of the rung team, and "beat the shit out of them" as a way to boost the team's spirit. Which is when the warden gets the idea that Paul would coach the inmates' team for the guards' "tune up" game.