The Movie That Started It All

Rating: 10/10 (20 February 2008)

When you look back at all the outrageous sports comedies this is probably one of the first. It has set a new standard for comedy across many movies. With Paul Newman in here he kind of gives this movie a soul. Maybe not a great one, still something is in here. Lately there have been many sports comedies such as Dodgeball, Balls of Fury and many of Will Ferrell's movies. Yet none of them, except maybe Dodgeball have reached the originality and such witty lines from Slap Shot. I think this movie really has something more to it than just the comedy. It actually displays the faults in hockey and professional sports in general. It really shows that to many owners that the idea of having a team is like a cool new toy. All kids eventually get bored with toys and give them away or just throw them in the trash. This is exactly what we see in Slap Shot with the owner, she just plays with all their lives and can just make them a simple tax write-off. It also shows the desperation of the players. Paul Newman talks about going out with style about as soon as hears scout are at the game he quickly goes back to the team's brutal and dirty tactics (This made out to be a hilarious scene). The difference between this and other sports comedies is that it actually has a lot of realistic situations ( THough sometimes exaggerated). I would definitely recommend this.