Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) is a former NFL player disgraced for shaving points in a big game. One night, he gets drunk and goes joyriding, gets arrested, and is sentenced to 3 years in a Texas Federal Prison.

In prison, Warden Rudolph Hazen (James Cromwell) coerces Crewe into helping the prison guards’ football team, led by hostile Captain Knauer (William Fichtner), by threatening him with additional jail time. Crewe informs Hazen that what Hazen’s team needs is a tune-up game to boost the guards’ confidence, and therefore sets out to form a semi-decent team to play against the guards out of fellow inmates. With the help of newfound friend, Caretaker (Chris Rock), they start off with a poorly organized team, before being noticed by another prisoner, former college football star, Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds), who decides to help coach the team.

Crewe, Nate and Caretaker set out to find and recruit additional inmates for the team. Hazen and the guards go to extreme lengths to hinder Crewe’s squad, including provoking the players and flooding their field, but the team overcomes these obstacles.

Inmate Unger (David Patrick Kelly) secretly spies on the activities of the inmates and after being pressured by the guards, rigs Crewe’s radio with an explosive. Caretaker unknowingly enters the cell to give a photo to Crewe, but is killed when he tries to turn the dial on the radio.

During game day, the inmates, now calling themselves "Mean Machine”, with gear provided by the late Caretaker, overcome a rough start, and Crewe has to help the team realize that winning the game is more important than their personal grudges. The first half ends with the score tied. The angered Hazen informs Crewe that if he does not lose he will be framed for the murder of Caretaker. Crewe acquiesces to Hazen’s threat, only asking that the guards take it lightly after getting a comfortable lead, to which Hazen agrees to do so after they obtain a two touchdown lead. After faking an injury in order to leave the field, Crewe’s teammates voice their displeasure over his obvious deserting over the team.

After seeing that Hazen has broken his promise and two members of the Mean Machine are injured, Crewe asks Skitchy if the time spent in jail for punching the warden was worth it. Skitchy replies, "It was worth every goddamn second,” and Crewe returns to the field. The team initially doubts Crewe’s resolve and allows him to be sacked twice. After losing his helmet and still getting the first down, Crewe admits his sabotage to the other inmates, and asks for their forgiveness.

The group was united again as a team, the Mean Machine scores two touchdowns to cut the guards’ lead to 35-28. Scarborough comes in for one play as replacement and scores a touchdown off a trick play involving a fumble called a Fumblerooski. They decide to go for the two-point conversion and the win. As they get up to the line they seem to be confused and Crewe and Coach start arguing in order to trick the guards. Moss gets the snap and passes it to Crewe, who scores the winning conversion. Knauer, with a newfound respect for Crewe, lets him know that he will testify that Crewe had nothing to do with Caretaker’s death.

Hazen admonishes Knauer for losing a fixed game and notices that Crewe is heading towards the exit. Thinking Crewe is trying to escape, Hazen orders that Crewe be shot for attempting to escape. Knauer hesitates and at the last moment realizes (and scornfully tells Hazen) that Crewe is only picking up the game football. Crewe returns it to Hazen, telling him to "Stick this in your trophy case.”

2005

PG-13

Movie

2.35:1

113

2018-02-07 21:10:10