GOON
PG-13
92 Minutes
Director: Michael Dowse
Writers: Jay Baruchel, Evan Goldberg Adam Frattasio, Doug Smith
Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Eugene Levy, David Paetkau
Cast Seann William Scott―Doug Glatt
David Paetkau―Ira Glatt
Jay Baruchel―Ryan
Alison Pill―Eva
Liev Schreiber―Ross Rhea
Eugene Levy―Dr. Glatt
Marc-André―Grondin Xavier Laflamme
A bruise on the leg is a hell of a long way from the heart, candy ass.
-Kurt Russell, MIRACLE (2004)
There aren't too many good hockey movies that don't star Emilio Estevez.
SLAP SHOT (1977): Paul Newman, is a very spry, and youthful 52 year-old. In the most crass and vulgar role he’s ever played. This was a slapstick comedy, and a slapdick comedy (that wasn't a typo).
While every other sport is less physical, hockey is a celebration of deliberately harming one's competitors. There's that old joke about a hockey game turning into a boxing match. But in boxing, they where gloves. An 'enforcer' is there to intimidate opponents, and to beat the shit out of them. Doug is an earnest, industrious, selfless oaf, which makes him well-suited for this role.
'I don't have a thing. Like you have your show; my dad and my brother have their doctor thing. I don't got a thing. Everybody's got a thing but, me.'
He's a highlander, by God!
-HIGHLANDER (1986)
The Halifax Highlanders are part of a semi-professional hockey league. He was offered the job of enforcer, after beating up a hockey player, that went into the stands (Ron Arrtest-style).
Doug Glatt (Scott) is a security guard for a local bar, just outside of Boston. You wouldn’t know that his dad is Jewish, a doctor, or Eugene Levy.
"I get to wear a uniform that doesn't have the word 'security' on it."
Intellectually, he is a little smarter, and more self-aware than Forrest Gump. Yet, he understands how the world around him operates, and his place in that world.
Seann William Scott huffed gold spray paint for 6 months, just to get into character. In an interview, he said he was taking a page out of Randy Quaid's book.
His friend, Ryan (Baruchel) hosts a weekly hockey show…on the internet. Ryan is a lanky, obnoxious, loud-mouth, with the ‘Vanilla Ice stripes’ in his hair. I only new one person who had there hair like that, and it was in first grade; his name was 'Vanilla Ice'.
Stop, stop! he's already dead!
In every sports movie, there’s an old-timer who doesn’t like the new guy. Scott gets a visit by the ghost of hockey past. Ross Rhea (Schreiber) is the arch nemesis, he plays for the Shamrocks. For Ross, this is his final game, and his final season as an 'enforcer'. These two, go head-to-head, in the film's climax.
If anything, I would call Goon a comedy with some serious moments. The movie has understated, deadpan humor that works. His girlfriend starts crying, he asks:
'What happened? Did you just watch RUDY?'
I wasn't really a fan of those American Pie films or Dude Where's My Car (2000). I pray that the days of playing that generic, obnoxious, asshole character; are finally over for Seann William Scott.
Final Verdict 90 out of 100
