Review: Goon

       If you ask anyone who know anything about hockey what the best hockey movie is, almost all of them will reference the 1977 Paul Newman film, Slapshot. There might be a few younger neophytes who will say Miracle, but they don't know what they're talking about. Slapshot was the film introduction to the role of the enforcer with the unforgettable Hanson brothers. For those of you unfamiliar with hockey, the enforcer is a player who job isn't to play hockey, but rather to rough up those on the opposing team who are playing to well. Now, 35 years after Slapshot, we are finally given it's spiritual successor: Goon.

       Seann William Scott plays Doug Glatt, a tough but lovable bouncer in small town Massachusetts. One day he goes to a minor league hockey game with his friend Pat (Jat Baruchel). Pat is one of those hockey fans with the innate ability to get under the players' skin. After some of Pat's insults incite a player to climb out of the penalty box and come after him, Doug steps up to defend his friend and soundly pummels the offended hockey player, even knocking him out with a headbutt to the hockey player's helmeted skull. This display grabs the attention of the coach of the local team and he offers Doug a position on the team, despite his lack of skating ability. Doug quickly becomes a crowd favorite and earns the nickname 'Doug the Thug.' Doug is quickly offered a spot on the Halifax Highlanders, a team that is in the level just below the NHL. The Highlanders want Doug to protect their star player, Xavier LaFlamme, a French Canadian phenom who was a star in the pros, until he was given a bad concussion and was too timid on the ice after his return from injury. Doug's parents disapprove of his new career, as both his father and brother are doctors and want to see Doug follow in the family business. However, Doug knows that he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and that fighting is the only thing he knows how to do well. Meanwhile, Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber), an aging enforcer banned from the NHL finds himself relegated to spending his last season on a minor league team. Doug is dubbed the heir apparent to Rhea's throne as the premier enforcer in hockey and the a fight between the two when their teams play each other seems destined to happen. Off the ice, Doug meets Eva (Alison Pill), an adorable girl who loves the hockey scene and really clicks with Doug, if only she didn't already have a boyfriend.

       This is a solid comedy film with plenty of heartwarming moments as well as a healthy dose of violence on the ice. Whether or not the Highlanders win games or not is not a major focus of the movie, and it doesn't have to be. The focus is squarely on Doug and his transformation into a professional hockey player. Seann William Scott plays his character very differently than I expected. I had really only seen him as Stifler in the American Pie films. Here he plays a very modest, apologetic thug. Who will take a beating if he thinks he deserves it. The obnoxious, pervy characteristics of Stifler are left to Jay Baruchel's character Pat, who I wished would've toned it down a bit as he frequently came across as annoying and I often found myself waiting for him to get offscreen. Alison Pill is quirky and charming as always, but I'm unconvinced of the necessity of the love story between her and Doug. I understand how it allows us to see Doug maintain his softer side even as he becomes known as a brute, and it's not quite as shoehorned it as the love story in Thor, but it's definitely seems a little out of place when compared to the rest of the film. Goon is a rightful heir to the throne of Slapshot, and it will entertain hockey fans for years to come.