Goon
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL DOWSE
The gloves come off early and often in Michael Dowse’s Goon, a hackneyed, hyper-violent, but heartwarming ode to hockey’s unsung enforcers. Penned by Canuck scribes Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Pineapple Express) and Jay Baruchel—who also features as an aggressively profane, hockey-obsessed public-access host—the film is loosely adapted from a book by real-life tough guy Doug Smith, subtitled The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey. On screen, that “unlikely journey” becomes a thoroughly predictable underdog tale, redeemed by the sheer cretinous charm of Seann William Scott’s lead performance.
Scott plays Doug “The Thug” Glatt, a big-hearted halfwit whose gig as a bouncer is a bitter disappointment to his physician father (Eugene Levy). His big break duly arrives when, as a spectator, he breaks the face of an opposition bruiser, baited out of the penalty box and into the stands by a pornographic tirade from his buddy, Pat (Baruchel). Though scarcely able to lace his own skates, Doug’s gift for on-ice pugilism earns him a deal with his hometown farm team, and then a call-up to the Halifax Highlanders, just a tier below the big time.
There, his brief is to protect the Highlanders’ wayward Québécois playboy, Xavier Laflamme (Marc-André Grondin), a once-promising prospect left concussed and short of confidence by veteran enforcer Ross “The Boss” Rhea (an excellent Liev Schreiber). Rhea also happens to be Doug’s role model, which (spoiler!) means the two are destined to clash in a dramatic final-reel face-off.
In plenty of ways, Goon is a typical “worst-to-first” sports comedy, complete with a half-baked romantic subplot. But in spoltlighting hard-scrapping bit players, Dowse’s latest does depart from convetion. That focus on guts over glamour is just about enough to freshen up the formula, as familiar plot beats become literal beatings, delivered almost apologetically by Scott’s lovable brute. Verbally, Goldberg and Baruchel are similarly assaultive, and their script will test audience tolerance for graphically juvenile gags. (The sensitive souls who complained about the film’s lewd TTC ads will want to steer well clear.) Locker room humour aside, however, Goon is a sincere, surprisingly sweet salute.