Official Member Of The Slap Shot Booster Club

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2015)

Every now and again, a movie comes along late on a Friday night being aired on some obscure cable channel that pulls you in and keeps you there, despite the premise being something that interests you less than collecting rocks - and Slap Shot is one of them.
Paul Newman plays Reggie Dunlop, an ageing Ice Hockey coach who is torn between a genuine love for his soon to be leaving wife, and an undying love for the game that has allowed him to remain a child all of his years. On the back of a series of heavy defeats, he decides to tear up the rule book and bring what is described as 'aggressive hockey' back to his side of dysfunctional misfits, the Charlestown Chiefs, in order to draw attention to the side in the vain hope that the team won't be foreclosed along with what appears to be the entire town.
That's the premise, but what lies beneath is something incredibly fantastic; a genuinely funny, raucous and carefree movie that has clearly benefited from not only the time in which it was made, but also from the seeming freedom the director had when making it.
If you don't like Ice Hockey or any sport for that matter, it doesn't make a blind bit of difference. This movie works in the same way that Airplane! and Blazing Saddles does - with an effortless fluidity and style that will have most viewers going back for repeat views again and again in search of another comedic nugget of gold.
The character combinations here are superb, and the casting agent did a wonderful job getting Paul Newman on board, who seems to revel in this sort of role - this movie makes you feel good because it's clear from the start that it was a whole bunch of fun to make.
Full to the brim with one-liners, appropriate and hilarious cursing, memorable catch-phrases and all the dysfunction you could ever hope for in a slick 123 minute runtime. Some of the scenes are genuinely laugh out loud funny; my favourite, the Charleston Chiefs organ player who gets clouted in the head and knocked off his chair by a stray puck shot from distance, only to appear in his next scene resplendent with a protective helmet - I had to spit my drink out.
As mentioned in other reviews there is a small amount of social commentary here, but not enough to spoil the jokes, of which there are plenty. Hilarious, compelling and wonderfully carefree in a way that studio executives dare not entertain in this day and age, Slap Shot will surprise and revive you on one of those rainy Wednesday evenings after a bad day at work. So spend a couple of hours with the Chiefs - you'll be glad you did.
8.1 / 10