Men with Brooms

This movie had the potential to be interesting and fun by tackling a little known Scottish sport in a Canadian locale. Instead the writer, Paul Gross, chose to take the easy way out and went for every sports cliche in movie history. From the unrequited love (this lucky fellas has two!) to the see-it-coming-from-a-mile-away win you can pretty much predict what each new scene is going to bring. I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt... up until they threw in the very tired slow-mo silhouette walking with some rock song as it's background. on top of that writer/director's Paul Gross' acting was mediocore at best.

All this being said the movie is watchable simply as the kind of movie where the underdogs win. It could have been better, though...

I not only wanted to like this movie, I tried to like this movie. I failed.

The subject is curling, so you might think that the script would be as offbeat as the sport. Wrong. This is the most formulaic piece of claptrap I've seen in a long time. "A group of wacky misfits must get back together to beat the odds and win an emotional tournament while putting old ghosts to rest and reconciling with estranged loved ones." It could be the plot of practically every sports movie ever made, but they usually aren't done this dumbly.

Cliches abound: the feisty single mother harbouring a secret crush; the dopehead teammate who can't keep his girlfriends' names straight; the crusty old coach who is also one teammate's father; the henpecked husband who must eventually find his backbone; the dweeby couple trying to conceive a baby; and of course the male lead who must choose between two women (sisters, no less) and atone for past wrongs on the curling rink. YAWN.

Speaking of the copulating couple, whoever saw two people trying to have a kid do the act right in front of his male buddies? And by the way, a woman can only get pregnant once a month, so why does this couple hop on each other in every second scene throughout the whole movie? She'd come running in screaming, "It's time!" and he'd unzip and hump frantically for 5 seconds and then she'd run off again. Hi-lar-ious.

Poop jokes? You couldn't count how many.

I was so bored watching this thing that I started to root for the robo-curler they call Juggernaut. In spite of his expressionless face and mechanical movements, he was the liveliest thing in the movie.

I give it a 3 on 10. The outtakes at the end were the only funny moments I saw.

This is the kind of flick you watch when you don't want to think too hard but you still want some intelligent humour and a good story. Some jokes are hidden in sarcasm, satire or poignancy, and you might miss them, so it's worth paying attention. The style of this movie's humour may have been a bit before its time, as it resembles currently popular TV shows like Scrubs, The Office and Psych. Even the many colourful characters, including bit-parts, are very believable in today's small-town culture. Do not miss the beginning or the rest wont hold together. Although it lags a bit in the middle, it still satisfies because there's enough variety along the way, that the ending isn't quite as nauseating as you might fear. The soundtrack is excellent and the out-takes at the end wrap it well. For Paul Gross fans, pay attention to his facial expressions - he's more animated compared to many of his other roles.

The negative reviews point out that the film is cliched. Most comedy these days can be accused of that. What pulls this film up for me is the characters. I live in a small town and recognize these characters as my neighbors. More over, although they are flawed, the residents are treated with respect and love. I think this film nailed the experience of closeness in a village. I also enjoyed watching curling. Who knew the sport was performed with such precision and grace. Probably not the best film for city loving flat landers. It did make me laugh and gave me a buzz of happiness.

This movie was not as funny as I thought it would be at first. Yes, there's some laughs, but no genuine one. It's the Canadian answer to a movie like Independence Day or The Patriot!

The acting is not brilliant, even if Polly Shannon and Molly Parker are good. On a good note, It was nice to see some scenes shot in Sudbury, where I lived for a while, but besides that, the movie has no real value.

Out of 100, I gave it 70. That's good for ** out of **** stars.

Seen in Vaughan, at the AMC Interchange 30 Cineplex, on April 13th, 2002.