By snoadmin
Canadians definitely take their hockey seriously. The film “Goon,” which is now available for rent on demand through all major cable providers, is the first good underdog sports movie that’s been released in years. The film highlights how ruthless and brutal the game can be, which is why it’s interesting that it still manages to display a genuine love for the sport. Even if you’re not a hockey fan, this film will draw you in with its humor and heart, while also slightly horrifying you with its violence.
Doug Glatt (Sean William Scott) is a dim-witted bouncer who feels estranged from his family because his brother and father (Eugene Levy) are successful doctors. Doug dreams of finding the one thing he’s really good at and using it to prove himself to his family. Unfortunately, it seems that the only thing he’s good at is beating people up. While at a minor league hockey game with his foul-mouthed superfan best friend Pat (Jay Baruchel), Doug gets in a fight with one of the players and hits the guy so hard his helmet falls apart.
It turns out Doug’s particular set of skills are useful to somebody. His fight at the game lands him the position of “enforcer” on the team. The role of the enforcer is to protect the star players by fighting anybody who gets in their way. He’s not there to score goals, he is just there to fight.
The interesting thing about this movie is that although it’s a hockey film, it’s structured more like a boxing movie. Doug becomes a sensation after he’s given the nickname “The Thug,” and slowly learns the rules of the game as he beats players to a bloody pulp. It all comes down to a showdown with Ross “The Boss” Rhea (Liev Schreiber), a veteran hockey enforcer who was dropped down to the minor leagues for slashing someone in the back of the head with his stick. Viewers will be so invested in the Rocky-like battle between rivals, they’ll forget that there’s an actual hockey game going on.
Although the film is mostly a comedy, it does manage to have to some heartfelt moments, mostly involving the relationship between Doug and his assigned roommate Xavier Laflamme (Marc-Andre Grondin). Xavier is a once-skilled professional player who was sent to the minors after Ross “the Boss” gave him a concussion. Xavier tries to overcome his fear of getting hit, which is a great contrast to Doug learning how to kick people’s teeth in.
However, the love story between Doug and Eva (Allison Pill) is pretty weak. Doug was already fairly dumb, but his interactions with Eva make him seem borderline mentally challenged. Their relationship really doesn’t go anywhere, and it seems like the filmmakers added this part in just so there was at least one female character in the movie. Sometimes having no female characters is better than the only female character being pointless and one-dimensional.
Fans of writer Evan Goldberg’s previous works, such as “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express,” will notice his uniquely vulgar style of dialogue in this film. It definitely has potential to be a cult classic, especially amongst hockey fans.
Audiences will find themselves chanting for blood as Doug smashes his way through each fight, which is both fun and troubling at the same time. Maybe that’s the point.
