Goon

I plead ignorance: I have never seen Slap Shot, the holy grail of non- Mighty Ducks hockey films. When I ventured into the world premiere of Michael Dowse's Goon over a month ago at the Toronto International Film Festival, I felt like I missed out on required reading. But while it may be deeply indebted to the Paul Newman classic, I think Goon still manages to be unique enough that it works pretty well on its own.

Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) is a loser. His father and brother are doctors, yet he is stuck as a bouncer in a seedy Orangetown bar. A rather heinous act of self-defense at a local hockey game gets him noticed and brought in to play in the minors as a goon, someone who fights with others and protects his smaller teammates. He does so incredibly well that he is quickly drafted to a semi-professional team in Canada, where his main goal is to protect star player Xavier LaFlamme (Marc-Andre Grondin), who has not played the same since a brutal hit from the legendary Ross 'The Boss' Rhea (Live Schreiber).

Goon is the type of movie that begs not to be taken seriously. If the synopsis was not enough, then the key opening shot, a bloody tooth falling in slow motion over classical music, is an obvious suggestion of the borderline ludicrous film that follows. There is nothing subtle that occurs at all, everything is incredibly blatant and wildly over-the-top (and frequently incredibly gritty and disgusting). The film wears its pride for the sport on its sleeve, and sometimes goes to ridiculous lengths to make sure you always know that. While hockey seems to be an oddly frequent theme in Canadian pictures in the past year or so, this was the first one I saw that had the sport front and centre – not simply existing as an underlying theme or plot device.

But what sets it apart from the other Canadian hockey films is its glorification of violence and carnage on ice. Glatt's main objective is to destroy and take out the other players, and everyone around him is constantly stressing that. While we get to witness the struggle he has trying to understand if there will ever be anything more for him, the film still paints him in the corner of always needing to fight, which leads to some horrifically bloody battles. Dowse does not shy away from how violent the sport can be; instead he makes it incredibly gratuitous and takes it dangerously close to the limits of decency. I laughed at how silly the violence became, but I was surprised at just how gory it was in many instances. It will no doubt cause a minor controversy, and I would not be surprised if a lot of people ignore the fact that the film is one of the few to actually deal with the topic head-on.

Goon is also set apart through its rather colourful use of profanity, specifically at the hands of Jay Baruchel's Pat Houlihan. He adapted and co-wrote the script with Seth Rogen's usual writing partner Evan Goldberg , and spices up almost every line with a unique expletive. Some are too overdone for their own good, but others are near perfect. They lead to some rather hysterical one-liners more often than not, and help shape the film around the hockey. I found it particularly amusing that Baruchel gets to be the most vulgar of anyone in the script, allowing him to provide the most laughs and steal scenes from everyone. It also makes the film, at least in my mind, a bit more authentic to the sport itself. It can be family orientated as some films have tried to suggest, but it is much more at ease when it is adult.

If I hold anything against the film (outside of the ending I wanted so much more from), it is that no one is really developed at all. We get to see a few different shades of Scott's Glatt, but no one else in the film changes. They are one-dimensional all around, with some minor throwaway moments that could have been used to better characterize them. It feels like a missed opportunity, even with the short running time, and nearly puts the talented cast to waste. Even Scott himself seems to be having trouble trying to really make something of his character. They all make the most of what they are given, but it seems like the acting must have come a close third to the sensationalizing of hockey and the glorifying of violence.

That said, Scott does a lot better in the role than I want to give him credit for. He is very meek throughout, and is always downplaying the character. He is the complete opposite of Stifler, and shows that he has some range. Schreiber is great as Ross, but he leaves the film for far too many interludes. Same goes for Kim Coates as the head coach of Glatt's team, who never appears on screen for nearly long enough. Sadly, Grondin and Alison Pill, as Glatt's love interest, seem to fare the worst of anyone. They get so very little to do, despite their importance in the film. They just end up looking awkward and out of place more often than not, almost like they do not belong at all.

In the end, there is a lot of fun to be had watching Goon, especially if you really embrace the ridiculousness of it all. It is a really silly film, but manages to be enjoyable even with the massive flaws that plague it. With a little more work, it could have been one of the best sports movies ever. Instead, it will have to contend with being the best among a long string of Canadian hockey movies that will hopefully end sooner rather than later.

7/10.

Seann William Scott often fits into a certain type, to put it bluntly, silly films. After following his favourite hockey player, Doug (Scott) goes from bouncer at a pub to pro hockey player, seems to fit the bill.

I didn't think much of the film or the story in the first say, twenty minutes. It just seemed to be in competition with the likes of Superbad and dare I say, American Pie. With Doug's best friend Ryan (Jay Baruchel) making obscene jokes every 5 seconds, I couldn't help but role my eyes. When the story moves away from him, is when the film really starts to pick up. We get to see what Scott's character is really like, which is a polite, cute, neanderthal with really hard fists.

Liev Schreiber's character is rather terrifying, creating a great juxtaposition between him and the dimwitted Doug. The camera angles used on the ice show how scary it can be and bring the audience into the match. Now that I know it's based on a true story, I only want to meet the real Doug and give him a hug.

I hadn't read or heard much about Goon before I went to see it; all I'd seen was the trailer. I didn't even realise that it was based on a true story. I wasn't expecting it to be that good, but was pleasantly surprised.

I was expecting that the funny bits in the trailer were all that would be on offer but the whole film was seeped in that simple (albeit sometimes unnerving) comedy that had the audience laughing out loud often.

Furthermore, beneath the usual humour we've come to expect from Goldberg, there is a much deeper underlying story to it. It was even endearing in parts. OK so 'endearing' isn't the best word to describe a comedy sports film that has as much gore as it has humour, but the way that Seann William Scott portrays Doug really did something of touching my heart, and it was refreshing to see Scott play the role.

Granted it may not clean up at the Oscars, but the story of a guy who really has no idea where he belongs is both hilariously and sweetly told in Goon, with a great relationship conveyed between Doug and his friend - excellently played by Baruchel - who seems to be the only one who believes in him.

Teamed (no pun intended) with the banter generated with the game of hockey and Doug's fellow players, this really makes for a must-see for any sports film fan, or comedy film fan, or indie film fan. There's a love story in there too for the romance fans. Which could potentially give Goon a pretty huge audience. If people ignore the trailer, that is.

Yes the whole story is slightly clichéd, but this film does so much more than the trailer gives it credit for, and deserves the word to be spread that this really is worth a watch.

There is one element that distinguishes a "great" sports movie from a "good" sports movie. It's "the feel". It doesn't matter if the movie is about baseball, basketball, football or hockey. If it doesn't smack of authenticity you might as well flip over to a live game. "The Natural" had the feel of baseball and for hockey "Slapshot" has always been the template for the great hockey movie. I happily add "Goon" to that rarefied space.

As far as movie making goes, it has all the right stuff. The acting is convincing and solid, the jokes are funny and there is lots of on-ice action. But the defining feature of this film is that it feels real. It feels like these are real guys playing a real game in front of real fans. True hockey fans will get the in jokes, wince at the ankle injury, relate to the dressing room banter, and feel tempted to yell "head's up" when the bad guy starts to take a run at the little guy.

The key scene is, of course, the final showdown between "good goon" and "bad goon". We know it's coming, but sometimes we know the NHL fights are inevitable, as the tough guys line up before the face-off and start jabbering. The build-up is just as visceral in "Goon", and when they finally drop the gloves it reminded me of that great final shoot-out scene in "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly", as the guys do the pre-fight strip tease and wait for other to draw first.

I will risk the wrath of my fellow hockey fans who have grown up worshipping at the church of "Slapshot". It was a great movie, although a bit long. I found "Goon" to be more entertaining, as authentic and more believable. Nice work guys!

One of my all-time favorite comedies is Slap Shot, so I had at least a marginal interest in seeing Goon. After reading a recent interview with Baruchel in the Vancouver Sun, the movie sounded like it just might have the heart to carry the flame that Slap Shot lit. Sure, no question, Goon comes off as somewhat of an homage, but it's done right, not overtly, balancing the necessary brutality and tastelessness with just enough sweetness. Which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for that pitiful attempt at a Slap Shot sequel.

I'm also not usually a fan of Seann William Scott's typecast everybrah, but his portrayal of Dougie Glatt as a soft-spoken and polite bruiser really is charming. The movie's not without its flaws: Sure, Baruchel's character is irritating and barely necessary, and Eugene Levy is tragically underused, and the subplot with the love interest is kinda out-of-place, but I overlooked those things because the meat of the movie is gold. The comedy is solid, the teammate/coach characters are amazing, and the film's sheer love of the game really, really shines through.

So my recommendation is ya pick up a twelve of Moosehead, throw on your old Chiefs jersey, and hunker down for a lot of laughs.