Not for the easily offended

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2012)

I can't claim to be an ice hockey fanatic as much as plead ignorance toward anything ice hockey related but I discovered that very little knowledge of the sport is needed to understand and enjoy something as fundamentally albeit stupidly entertaining as this. The film picked up the worst, most notorious aspect of ice hockey, the fights and the role of the aptly named 'enforcer' (basically, the guy responsible for knocking the opposition out) and centers an entire story around it. And that's the method through which the best comedy is born. By finding something within a broader subject to wittily exaggerate and create some idiotic humour out of.
Surprisingly, all this lunacy is based on a true story. Who would have picked that? All the same, regardless of its origins, I found the script original, enlightening for a hockey 'noob' like myself but smartly written and employed to create an R-rated comedy. The plot does eventually evolve from arbitrary madness involving bloody but relatively less cringeworthy violence to something a little more civil and mellow but remained amiable all the same, certainly a story worth following.
I really believed and liked the diverse cast and characters. These kinds of movies can really fail miserably if this isn't the case. Jay Baruchel, also one of the co-writers, is the 'Stifler' here, or, to put it into context for non American Pie fans, the foul mouthed, lewd, attention seeker who in all his excessiveness, can be quite funny. The usual 'Stifler' and protagonist, Seann William Scott is pretty boneheaded by contrast, a thug albeit one with surprising sensitivity. Though, as he does with most of his wide-spanning roles, he still makes himself reasonably humorous. Undoubtedly though, this is the most likable character I have seen him play. We've seen the two aforementioned actors in numerous R-rated comedies but Liev Schrieber hasn't been a regular feature in the genre. Yet, he made his niche superbly and it didn't necessarily involve carrying on like a jerk. He just simply fit the profile set out for his character and played the role with conviction. Isn't that the key to good acting in any genre?
Most of this is fairly dim witted and quite indecent. Crudely entertaining though for sure. Although, refrain from bringing ice hockey aspiring youngsters.