A Hilarious Feel-Good Underdog Movie

Rating: 9/10 (9 September 2012)

I am not a hockey fan. I've never watched it, never attended a game, and I could probably only name one or two NHL teams if pressed. But I am a fan of Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg so, hockey fan or not, I knew was giving GOON a chance. I'd read a really positive review of it out of last year's Toronto International Film Festival but, of course, it never got a wide release so I had to wait. It was worth the wait because I really, really liked this movie. The characters feel real, the gags are funny, and the action is brutal. The plot is pretty simple when you break it down: Doug Glatt (Sean William Scott) is a bouncer for a local dive bar and the black sheep of his family, with both his brother and father maintaining successful medical careers. Doug's just not smart enough to continue in their line, but he is great at fighting. His brutal talents are witnessed by a local hockey coach when he batters a player from the local Orangetown Assassins and Glatt's hockey career begins when he's trained as an enforcer. His role is to protect the more talented players on his team, usually through bloody beatdowns. Glatt's career takes off and he finds himself in the minor leagues where he tries to help inspire the Halifax Highlanders to their first championship in years while building to the eventual battle with legendary enforcer and one of Glatt's heroes, Ross "the Boss" Rhea (Liev Schreiber).
This movie is so well done that I was almost tempted to start watching hockey until I learned that the violence has been toned down a lot in the past decade or so. Even though the Highlanders' championship aspirations are only a subplot in the scope of the movie, I found myself excited during the games and had to remind myself that their success isn't the end goal of the movie. It's all about Doug rising through the ranks and finding his own form of success in his life. Regardless, the hockey scenes in this movie are pretty awesome. The fights are the highlight though, and they can be savage. Doug is a beast. He may be the worst hockey player in the league but he can dish a beating as well as he takes them. Everything builds up to the big final confrontation where the new fan favorite fights the retiring legend, and it will have you flinching. But the movie is more than just rearranging faces; it's a genuinely funny comedy. None of the gags felt forced or stupid with one major exception: Jay Baruchel. Yes, I said I was a fan but that doesn't mean he can do no wrong and his character is one of the most annoying I've seen. Baruchel is Pat, Glatt's best friend and host of a public access hockey show. He's loud, vulgar, and constantly in your face when he screams nearly every line. Oddly enough, he's the weakest part of the whole movie.
The casting for the movie was perfect (I'm assuming Baruchel's character was just written to be incredibly annoying). Sean William Scott has more talent than I've given him credit for in the past. He's played so many buffoons in the past, and it's good to see him come across as a little more down to earth. Sure Doug is dumb, but he's also endearing, noble, and endlessly optimistic. He's a great guy; he just happens to be really talented at throwing punches and so that's what he does. Scott's character is what makes this movie so effective. You feel for the guy and you really want him to come out on top, whether it be in his hockey career or his chasing local nymphomaniac Eva (Allison Pill). Eva, on the other side of the spectrum, is not a good person and she admits to this, but she sees something irresistible in Doug's naivety and good nature. She's cute without being hot and, despite her glaring flaws, you want Doug to get the girl. His teammates are where the real laughs come from here: Kim Coates (team manager Ronnie Hortense), Richard Clarkin, Jonathan Cherry, Ricky Mabe, and especially George Tchortov and Karl Graboshas. Aside from Ricky Mabe, I haven't really heard of any of them, but they all have hilarious chemistry as a team. GOON is one of those feel-good movies and it does it's job well, even for someone who couldn't care less about hockey like me.