depressing "slice of life" movie - but NOT a comedy

Rating: 4/10 (18 December 2007)

I was improperly prepared for this film. I was told it was a comedy. I found nothing amusing. I then decided it must be a inspirational/message film about team work, ethical playing, violence, trying to make money by any means necessary, a gender and class commentary. Maybe just a commentary on violence, sportsmanship and game playing. Wrong again.
If I had just been told it was JUST a film showing what life was like in a minor hockey league in the 70's I might've appreciated it more instead of looking for humor or meaning. There is no payoff. No growth in the characters (in fact they degenerate into nothing but goons).
It was just a sad movie about some pathetic losers who were losing their dreams, their livelihood and their spouses. Very few of the hockey players were likable people so it was hard to keep watching when you don't care what happens to them. I think Paul Newman's character was supposed to be sympathetic but I thought he was just selfish and rather despicable.
There were so many sideplots that could have been developed and would have interested me more. A town losing it's entire point of existence? Barely mentioned. The alienation and clinical depression of the wives? Shown, but not really addressed - just a given. A few hints at a critique of the violence taking over the sport - but in the end there was just an embrace of the new "style".
It's also hard to watch from a modern sensibility. Having spent decades trying to overcome the sexism and homophobia of previous times-I really have no desire to return to those days (though it might be instructional for younger audiences who have no idea what it used to be like). The epithet F*G and the word lesbian used as an insult were pretty much the entire dialogue. While I respect that it is probably an accurate reflection of the times and the dialogue - I no longer find it funny.
***SPOILER***
The end was just sad. Watching them give up on sportsmanship; lose their jobs (was Newman lying about his new gig like he'd lied about most of the rest?);and delude themselves into thinking they'd stay with their wives. Nothing/nobody had changed (or at least not for the better).
I saw this film as an indictment of hockey - not as a positive fan tribute as it seems most of the other commenters saw.