Great hockey films are few and far between, with recent entries Score: A Hockey Musical and the Rob Lowe bomb Breakaway not posing any threat to Slap Shot’s seat on the throne.
On Feb. 24, however, Goon — not to be confused with Goonies, an amazing slab of cinema in its own right — will drop its gloves and try to jersey the box office. (Check out the full-length trailer below.)
Some are calling the hockey comedy “Happy Gilmour meets Mighty Ducks,” but judging from the two-minute clip, surely nods to Eastbound & Down and, of course, the Hanson Brothers are in order as well.
Filmed in Winnipeg in the fall of 2010 and based on the book Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor Hockey, about the not-so-fictional life of Doug Smith, a guy who laced up his first pair of skates at age 19 and quite literally punched his way into a minor hockey career. Seann William Scott — who will forever be known as American Pie’s “Stifler” but had a great turn in 2008’s Role Models — plays the protagonist, a bouncer who scraps his way onto the ice and wears jersey number 69 because it’s the most hilarious number.
The screenplay is written by Montreal actor Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg, who had a hand in the Superbad script and thus knows a thing or two about the funny. Michael Dowse, who helmed Fubar 2, directed. Add a supporting cast that includes rival enforcer Liev Schreiber plus Canadians Eugene Levy and Georges Laraque (yep, that’s right, author George Laroque!), and could we possibly be in for the next great hockey film?
While the story could rely heavily on toothless stereotypes and “I went to the fight and a hockey game broke out” jokes, the use of Stompin’ Tom Connors in the soundtrack hints that this was made by people who actually love the good ol’ game, bruises and all.
Judging from the trailer, what do you think of Goon?
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