I've seen this movie too many times, but it still makes one laugh. Some of the humor is dated, goes back to the 70's, but its still enjoyable too watch.

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2003)

Slapshot is my favorite sports movie for a lot of reasons, but the one that sticks out the most is this: it is not like every other run-of-the-mill sports films. Unlike Major League or Unnecessary Roughness [both of which I like], it isn't about a bunch of misfits who stink but then find the will and way to win. Slapshot is about a bunch of guys who have the talent to win but can't, but eventually find the way. In the first game, we see that Ned Braden is the league's leading scorer. A few guys speak little English, which would add to their troubles. The team had some hope. Yes, it wasn't until the Hansens showed up that the team started to win, but the Hansens brought in a whole new aspect to the movie: to play fairly and lose, or to play the dirtiest hockey ever and win the whole thing? Another thing that makes it great is that its not a pro team, instead its a minor league in some part of America, we don't know where. Another great thing about Slapshot is that the only person you've ever heard of or seen before or after is Paul Newman, who isn't even the most popular character!
Slap Shot is without a doubt, the greatest hockey movie ever made. If profanity and violence are your thing, that this is your movie! If you are a major hockey buff, this is your film! If you like to laugh, this is your moving picture! It seems like massive beatings are handed out by the second! Enough blood to fill a small swimming pool... not to mention enough profanity to last for the rest of your life... but hey, that's hockey! Any hockey fan will tell you that this movie is the best in the genre, so why should I tell you different? Also Slap Shot" takes the time to investigate an array of pro sports themes: sadistic player violence; boorish sexuality; fan behavior; fan loyalty to athletes and vice-versa (or total absence thereof); the bloodless, detached world of athletic club ownership. But the film is better than the snide satire it has been portrayed to be, and in its own manic way, it conveys much of the joy of sports. That was what made some of the films of the 70's great. They weren't the predictable fare we see today. Big stars weren't above making character movies or just having some plain old, goofy fun. What other decade gave you Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now and Superman? "Slap Shot" is a movie that is more than the foul language or the violence. It's about a hockey team's last ditch effort to save itself. Reggie Dunlop may con and manipulate his way to the championship, but that's what is great about his character and this movie, and that is the psychology within. There's something in all of us that is like Dunlop and his players...we're all underdogs, we fight for what we believe in and may even be a little underhanded to get to where we need to get. More important, Dunlop has something to prove...that he can be a winner, and he can be successful. It's what he wants for himself, and for his players. Also the characters and the subplots still have me laughing out loud: Dunlop putting a bounty on a competing player's head, the rug-wearing radio announcer (wonderfully played by Andrew Duncan), the French Canadian goaltender (Yvon Barrette) , the underhanded general manager (the late, great Strother Martin), the unexpected striptease by the Chiefs leading scorer Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean) which catches many players, who were beating each other on the ice, totally off guard. I love the line by Ogle Oglethorpe (Ned Dowd, Nancy's brother) after beating up a Chief player and then seeing Braden taking his uniform off: "This is disgusting...." How about that for irony! The only thing that could improve this movie is for their to be more Hansons arrive and to see them do funny things like beat people up in creative ways Paul Newman sees the "Boys" playing with their slot cars and comments that they "brought their TOYS with them!" on the road trip. This is funny and should have been explored more, but it isn't. As a matter of fact, the Hanson's and their background are not explored at all, and they have a small amount of total screen time. This is too bad because they are the best part of the movie. . But if you are like me and want to see cool hockey footage of guys playing without helmets, wacky stuff happening at the rink, the Hanson brothers doing their thing, etc. , there just isn't enough of it there. If this movie was made today, there would be less social commentary, less human interest, more Hansons, and more hockey. And, sadly, it would probably be a better movie because of it.