This Dumb Thug is a Really Nice Guy

Rating: 7/10 (30 March 2012)

There is nothing innately entertaining to me about two men beating each other to bloody pulps in a hockey rink. Although "Goon" contains numerous scenes depicting icy carnage, violence is not what it's really about, and for that, I'm extremely grateful. If you want to break it down into essentials, it's a quirky, darkly funny story about finding your place in the world and the value of fidelity. That this comes through in a film where the actors use foul language and obscene gestures as if being paid by the minute is nothing short of miraculous. And I don't think too many filmmakers would have the nerve to highlight scenes of blood spraying and teeth flying with passages from "Nessun Dorma." Of course, the aria is about the prospect of victory, which is appropriate for this story.
The film is loosely based on the life of Doug Smith, a former minor-league hockey player from Hanover who, throughout the 1980s and '90s, was affiliated with several teams as an enforcer, where his job was to protect his teammates and act as a deterrent by fighting unruly opposing players. After retiring in 1998, he became a hockey referee, a coach for the Boston Bruins, and a police officer, a position he holds to this day. With the assistance of Adam Frattasio, he would document his experiences in the autobiography "Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey." The film reinterprets him as Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott), a simpleton from Massachusetts whose gift for beating people up gets him promoted from an American barroom bouncer to a Canadian hockey enforcer.
Glatt is a surprisingly sympathetic and compelling character. He knows he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. He's not one for big words, or even little words. In fact, his vocabulary is so limited that he can't even come back at someone with an insult. Although he can rough someone up with the best of them, and although he can take just as well as he can give, he's not one of those angry nutcases that go out seeking trouble. As a bouncer, he punches people out only because it's his job. In his personal life, he will defend himself and others if the occasion calls for it. Otherwise, he's an all-around decent guy. He's an embarrassment to his parents (Eugene Levy and Ellen David), who wanted him to become a doctor, like his brother (David Paetkau) – who is himself an embarrassment simply because he's gay. Unfortunately, physical aggression is the only thing Glatt is good at.
When he attends a hockey game with his foulmouthed friend and die-hard hockey fan, Pat (Jay Baruchel, also one of the screenwriters), Glatt gets into a confrontation with a rowdy player and wins. This catches the attention of the coach of his hometown's hockey team, who hires him to be their new enforcer. He clearly doesn't know all that much about the game, but he sure knows how to fight. Glatt's success, which earns him local celebrity status and the nickname "The Thug," soon leads to a transfer to a losing Canadian hockey team. His job is to protect his teammate (and roommate) Xavier Laflamme (Marc-Andre Grondin), who was once a skilled prospect but became despondent and bitter following a concussion at the hands of Glatt's idol, a demoted enforcer named Ross "The Boss" Rhea (Liev Shrieber). Laflamme's bitterness only deepens as Glatt's popularity rises and the team ends its losing streak.
Meanwhile, Glatt falls in love with a young woman named Eva (Allison Pill), who, despite having a boyfriend, has a fetish for hockey players. She continuously admits that she's a terrible girlfriend. She sleeps around a lot, despite the fact that her boyfriend is nice enough. Glatt is not the kind of guy that will knowingly ruin a relationship, although he can't fight the crush he has on Eva. Their relationship is another surprising aspect of this movie; many funny things are said and done, and yet you can sense the genuine affection they have for one another. As a sign of affection, Glatt will give her a plush version of his team's mascot, which he repeatedly asserts is official. In turn, Eva will eventually admit, in her own comedic way, that Glatt makes her not want to be a slut anymore.
Glatt is given some lines and made to do things that are obviously intended to elicit laughter. But there's no denying that everything he says, no matter how funny it comes off, is absolutely genuine. And there's basic human decency in him; he may be a little more than a goon with a hockey stick, but he's understands and believes in loyalty, a trait that doesn't go unnoticed by Rhea or even Laflamme. Above all, he likes that he's finally being recognized and revered for the one thing he's good at. Yes, that happens to be beating people up, but I guess you have to take the bad with the good. In spite of cringe-inducing scenes of comedic violence, and in spite of the incessant profane dialogue, "Goon" is an astonishingly good character study. I love it when movies surprise me.
-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)