funny, complex, sexual and kind of creepy

Rating: 8/10 (25 May 2013)

I recommend people read "Hilarious, oddly influential dark sports comedy" (ggh6; 27 July 2001). Also, "Funny, cynical and irreverent" (JohnRouseMerriottChard, 27 September 2008); "Enjoyable romp" (Big Neil-2, 20 July 2002) and "...a hockey game broke out (Gary M. James; 8 May 2001).
"Slap Shot" is a very complex movie. It works very well as a sports comedy that that can seen in a party setting. For many people, that is all it needs to be.
I really like how it looks. The extensive use of natural lighting, the grainy quality of the film is appealing. I also admire George Roy Hill's visual style. There are a number of interesting compositions.
The opening credits begin in a cutaway section of what was previously the blue square of an American flag. The finish concludes with a parade for the Charleston Chiefs. The Chiefs win using disreputable tactics. It is hard to deny that Slap Shot is making a statement about the falsity of American life; i.e., Americana.
Then there is the homophobic quality (which Gary James mentions in his 8 May 2001 review). If one reads between the lines, Slap Shot can be viewed as an out-of-the-closet statement for Paul Newman. (If not Newman, then his character, Reg Dunlap.) Contrary to what many have written, Newman's Reg Dunlap does not originate the idea that if the Chiefs become a goon-squad it will bring in a financially depressed crowd. Reg Dunlap is a classic weather vane. What he thinks this minute is determined by who is around him. He cannot decide which woman he wants. He also repeatedly contradicts himself about what style of hockey he wants his team to play. (He even tells the police he thinks the Hanson brothers should be locked up, then works for their release.) Given the transient nature of Reg Dunlap's opinions, and the clearly identifiable scenes where Dunlap encounters the subject of homosexuality, it seems easy enough to interpret these scenes as Newman (or Dunlap) acknowledging that he has a gay impulse, regardless of what Dunlap says about homosexuality in scenes where he is more in control.
Slap Shot depicts not not just the corruption of hockey, but also with American society. We are made to believe both are acceptable. Like the team's fanatical boosters, we are rooting for the Chiefs to win by using disreputable tactics.
There is a powerful sense of indoctrination in Slap Shot. It does make the audience welcome thuggishness and the breakdown of civil society. (If the CIA made it that would explain why.)
I laughed from start to finish, and the introduction of the Hanson brothers to ice is a riot. Slap Shot is amusing. There are many layers of interest beyond the mirth.