Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story

I got to watch Mr. Hockey just the other night for the very first time and although I am not a hockey fan, found the film quite appealing and interesting. I am not altogether out of touch with the game and do, therefore, recognize one of the greatest names ever to play the game. I may have come in knowing next to nothing about him but I came out the other end appreciating, very much, the type of man, player, husband and father he was and, in my opinion, I think Michael Shanks did a stand-out job portraying Gordie Howe.

I cannot however, say much about the production of this film or the bulk of the cast either. Shanks was the only character that completely inhabited his part. Kathleen Robertson was good but far too young for the part of the 40 year old Colleen Howe. In my estimation the production was an unprofessional shambles from the rest of the casting to the direction and writing plus the clothing, make-up and hair styles of the era in which Gordie joined his sons in signing on with the WHA and the Houston (Howeston) Aeros team in 1973. Colleen Howe looked to be about 22 years of age instead of 40, which she would have been in 1973 having been born in 1933! We first see her in 1973 wearing a pair of gray suede heels designed in the next millennium! An obvious oversight?!?! The make-up used was all wrong for her and she wore an excruciating amount of it for the time. Instead of aging her a bit they made her up as though she were a flawless Barbie type Kewpie doll...and it was a huge mistake! The polyester clothing was particularly bad and out of step, even for the 70's and the fright wigs, especially the one donned by Bobby Hull, were annoyingly laughable rather than in any way real.

This was film designed to depict one year of his life...the 1973 season. He was only two years out of retirement but was severely out of shape. The thing I didn't quite comprehend was this...Colleen Howe seemed to be an absolute and borderline OCD perfectionist in every way! She ruled Gordie and the entire household with an iron fist and knew every nuance of everyone's life within the family unit. Why she didn't say something to him and why it took so long for it to dawn on Gordie that at age 45 and two years after retirement he could not get away with simply re-signing to play the game again is beyond me. The boys, his teammates, might have clued him in as well but didn't. They were both just OK in their roles but you had absolutely no sense of them as members of that family or as players at all. The daughter was OK too but she was stuck in between them somehow. The only other person I can say did well in his role was Howe's former teammate, Bill Dineen, played by Martin Cummins, who "defected" to the WHA and who hired Gordie as well as drafted the boys. Tom Anniko who played Bruce Norris was pretty darned good as well...at least he was good enough to hate for his treatment of Howe after Gordie went to the WHA to join his boys on the ice!

Howe is the only player in the history of the game to compete in 6 decades of his life...he last took the ice at about age 70! I think it's a great little film for the sake of nostalgia but for my money, they gave Gordie Howe pretty short shrift! They might have given this icon of hockey a bit better script, story line and a decent production team to get this film done properly. They only had 14 producers on the film...and was this ever a case of too many cooks spoil the soup! It's worth a watch even if it's only to see Shanks in the role and to learn just a bit about the great Gordie Howe.

This made for TV movie is ambitiously titled, and therefore maybe a bit misleading. "Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story" can't really be said to live up to its title. It's basically about Gordie's comeback season in 1973-74. Retired for two years, and unhappily holding an executive position with his beloved Detroit Red Wings which gave him no involvement with the hockey operation, Howe was suddenly given a reason to make a comeback when the Houston Aeros of the upstart WHA drafted his two sons, Mark and Marty. Wanting to live out a lifelong dream, Gordie signs with the Aeros and returns to the game at the age of 45.

There's a lot in this movie that comes across as authentic. The rivalry between the NHL and the WHA is demonstrated through the bitterness of Red Wing owner Bruce Norris and Maple Leaf owner Harold Ballard. But much of this revolves around the internal dynamics of the Howe family - reluctantly moving to Texas so that Gordie could live this dream. The movie doesn't soft pedal the awkwardness of the situation faced by Marty and Mark. Gordie was a great hockey player - but also a tough one, nicknamed "Elbows" for his willingness to take out opponents and defend his team-mates. But, of course, when he does that for Marty and Mark, it only embarrasses them. Gordie becomes obsessed with proving that he belongs, obsessed with winning the scoring title, obsessed with leading the Aeros to the championship - sometimes at the expense of his family.

I thought the portrayal of Colleen Howe was a bit weak. She more or less ran the careers of Gordie, Marty and Mark, but we really didn't see that, except for one scene in which she negotiates with the Aeros' general manager.

Gordie's comeback is a worthy story. After the NHL-WHA merger, he played in the NHL until the age of 51 - an amazing accomplishment in a fast paced and rough game. It's a good portrayal of one very important WHA season. (6/10)

Gordie Howe was a simple, quite man off the ice but on it, he is a force to be reckoned with. Nicknamed "elbows" due to his frequent use of them to other player's faces, he became "Mr. Hockey" by scoring 786 goals in his NHL career. After retiring from the Detroit Red Wings and taking a job in the head office, he decides to join the new World Hockey Association when a former teammate lands a job coaching the Houston Aeroes and drafts Gordie's 2 sons who are too young to play in the NHL. This is a great story of his rise to the top of the new league and also shows how gentile, yet firm, he is raising his own family. Respect for others, dignity and perseverance are all positive themes shown throughout this film. If you love the game or know someone who plays Hockey on any level, you will appreciate this great story based upon the real life of Gordie Howe.

A person would need to be born before 1950 or 1960 to truly appreciate what Gordie Howe meant to professional ice hockey in North America. More importantly all the professional hockey players who succeeded Gordie Howe in the National Hockey League (NHL) through the past four decades need to bestow credit and praise on Gordie Howe for raising awareness between the disparity between what the NHL owners were raking in in profits, and how NHL players salaries climbed after Gordie Howe un-retired from the NHL and signed with the WHA Houston Aeros. Due to Gordie Howe's and Mrs. Howe's endless loyalty to the management of the Detroit Red Wings, this biography depicts how the executives running the NHL believed they controlled what players would be making in salary and bonuses 'til death made them part. However, when the World Hockey Association (WHA) was trying to establish itself as the "other league", the NHL did not consider the WHA to be a serious threat to their monopoly because the two biggest hockey stars were playing for the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks.

The two biggest names in the NHL in the 1960's and early 1970's were Gordie Howe (played extremely well by Michael Shanks) who held most of the NHL's prestigious scoring records, and the younger Bobby Hull (played by Lochlyn Munro) whose physical attributes reminded many of Hercules, and Bobby had a booming slap shot with the scoring touch. Mr. Hockey provides some good historical detail about the younger Bobby Hull's exodus to the WHA for an unheard of (for the time) one million dollars per year. Bobby signed with the WHA shortly after, the old guy, Gordie Howe retired from the Detroit Red Wings and took a job in their front office. The movie depicts how much Gordie was missing the on ice action and was enticed back in to professional hockey by the WHA as part of a three man deal Mrs. Colleen Howe arranged with the newly formed Houston Aeros, which allowed the biggest name in hockey, Mr. Hockey himself, get to play professional hockey with his two skilled sons Mark and Marty Howe.

In my humble opinion, any true hockey fan has to see this movie as a tribute not only to Gordie Howe, but to the entire Howe family whose legacy is a life in hockey itself. This movie gives us all some insight in to the close knit Howe family ran by mom Colleen, played well by Kathleen Robertson, their daughter Cathy Howe, played by Emma Grabinsky, and Gordie and Colleen's two sons, Mark played by Andrew Herr and Marty played by Dylan Playfair.

On a personal note, I had the opportunity of a life time to meet with Mr. Howe during a stopover in a Boston airport late one evening. I approached him very gingerly as he sat alone. I respected his right to privacy, and he appeared to be suffering from a bit of jet lag. Mr. Howe could not have been nicer to me, he insisted I sit down and converse with him. We talked for a good 10 to 15 minutes. He asked if I had any children and if I would like his autograph for my boys. I told him I did not want to bother him, but instead he asked what their names were and he wrote a special something for each of my sons.

Mr. Hockey portrays Gordie Howe as a father first, a hockey legend, a six time winner of the Art Ross trophy winner, a sports celebrity who always gave his autograph freely.....but put skates on this man and a hockey stick in his hand and look out for "Old Elbows"!!!!

All hockey fans should see this Made For TV Movie, which is a deserved tribute to the single most important man in professional hockey both for his scoring prowess and his longevity. Gordie Howe played at the highest level of the game well in to his 50's, he truly is an amazing man our Mr. Hockey, and because of the class act Gordie Howe has been for his entire life this film deserves nothing less than a perfect 10/10, just as Gordie Howe has always been a perfect 10. Thanks for so many great memories Mr. Hockey!

Hockey legend Gordie Howe (Michael Shanks) retires from the NHL in 1971. Two years later, his wife Colleen (Kathleen Robertson) is concerned that her sons are not allowed to be drafted due to the NHL's age limit rule. She pushes the drafting of her sons by the Houston Aeros in the upstart WHA. They are paid more than by the old school NHL owners. Gordie decides to come out of retirement to play with his boys.

This sports movie seems to be doing the championship route. I don't think it's the right drama. Gordie's drive to return to hockey has a little bit of drama early on but the championship drive has no drama at all. If there is any drama in the story, it's probably the merger of the two hockey leagues. The movie is more fun with the villainous NHL. Overall, I like the characters but the hockey lacks tension.