Raucously Funny Hockey Farce

Rating: 8/10 (8 May 2018)

In the film's beginning, at a sparsely attended hockey game a woman yells at a French-Canadian player, "frog pussy!" The viewer would then know that the movie will be profanity-laced and downright raunchy.
Paul Newman stars as aging veteran player-coach Reggie Dunlop of the Charlestown Chiefs, a Pennsylvania minor league hockey team on a losing streak. That is, until the participants begin to play with extreme fierceness with the addition of three Hanson Brothers, who wear thick eyeglasses and who play rough and tough. They can certainly skate. Brawls abound as the fans cheer, and Dunlop approves of all this. With the dirty tactics, the Chiefs start to win right and make the playoffs. They sell out games. Then there is the irony that I will not disclose here. Meanwhile the local mill will soon be closing, and without support the team will also fold. It looks like the last season. As Dunlop incorrectly believes that the team will be sold to a Florida interest, he plants a story in the local newspaper. The story has several subplots.
Paul Newman is in his element. In fact, he stated that he had more fun making this movie than any other. He's fun to watch as usual, but his heated discussion with the team owner near the end is over the top. Strother Martin plays crafty old-timer General Manager Joe McGrath. Andrew Duncan is madcap sportscaster Jim Carr. In a minor role, Melinda Dillon as Suzanne displays her lovely boobs for us to see. Brooding Ned Braden is played by Canadian Michael Ontkean, who disapproves of the rowdy play. He wants to make it to the National Hockey League (NHL). Lindsay Crouse as Lily is Ned's long-suffering wife.
Screenplay is by Nancy Dowd, whose brother Ned Dowd was a minor league hockey player who made it for a short time to the WHA (World Hockey Association), which rivaled the NHL for a few years. Ned Dowd himself plays brutish Ogilthorpe. By the way, the hockey team really is the old Johnstown Jets of the North American Hockey League (and before that the East Coast Hockey league), as the ending credits thank them specifically. They actually won their league championship in 1975. The movie, filmed before helmets were mandatory, was filmed in New York and Pennsylvania. Maxine Nightingale sings "Right Back Where We Started From," a fitting ending.