Tag: Richard Clarkin

I. Love. Goon.

I did not do a best of list of 2011, but if I did, Goon would have certainly been on in it. It was such a surprise of a film. I don’t except a lot out of hockey movies, nor do I expect a lot out of Seann William Scott films, but something magical came together to give a movie that was hilarious, brutal, but still full of heart at the same time. And it told a different sort of hockey story. A different sort of underdog.

It was the perfect storm.

And then they said there would be a sequel. This time it would be written and directed by Jay Baruchel who wrote the first film. It would be Goon: Last of the Enforcers and it would come out eventually.

So it took six years yes. And Canada had it released in theaters briefly in March with no knowledge of when it would come to America, theatrically, DVD, or otherwise. And at some point it was just here, I saw the Blu-Ray at used movie store. I freaked out, excited, and scared.

As much as I loved Goon, I had big fears that a sequel would just be utter shit, as a lot of comedy sequels tend to do.

Turning the whole thing from a comedy into a romance is a bold choice as well.

Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) is ready to start a new season as a Halifax Highlander, but with a big change. He is going to be the captain. This upcoming season is a bit of a weird one, as there is a lockout in the NHL, so more and better players are in their league than normal and people are actually noticing them for once, including the media. They have a new owner, Hyrum Cain (Callum Keith Rennie) a former player himself.

During their first game, Glatt gets into a bloody fight with Anders Cain (Wyatt Russell), an up and coming violent winner, and yes, son of their new owner. Glatt gets his ass handed to him and his right arm injured, putting him out potentially for good. His right hand is so messed up, if he fights again, it will quickly get fractured and fuck it up permanently.

So Glatt is ready to retire on that note. Eva (Alison Pill), his now wife, is also pregnant and worried about him, so he gets a steady job in some insurance company. He hangs his skates up for his family, as the Highlanders begin to lose and lose. The owner makes changes that seem to threaten the franchise and the careers of his friends. That is not good. There is no way Glatt could come back, right? Not with an inability to fight. He would just have to be a player mostly. It might be crazy enough to work…

Also returning are basically everyone from before: Marc-Andre Grondlin, Liev Schreiber, Kim Coates, Jay Baruchel, Jonathan Cherry, George Tchortov, Karl Graboshas, Trent Pardy, and Richard Clark. It also brings in Elisha Cuthbert and T.J. Miller!

New guy definitely wins the beard game if anything.

A lot of the same happens in the Goon sequel, thankfully. We still have the locker room playful banter that makes up a decent portion of the original. A lot of the skaters are the same. The old captain has retired and is now just a coach, along with the same old coach as well. Just a new owner, a new player, and the same supporting cast.

Pill’s character has changed for the worse. She is worried about her husband, and pregnant, but she really doesn’t get to have a lot of good moments unlike the first film. She rocked originally when she was a hot mess, but I guess it is development. Glatt feels like the same old character, which feels great, although the time between the films is a bit up in the air. I definitely enjoyed seeing Rhea in a roll that felt natural as well.

Unfortunately, Russell’s new antagonist, though threatening, was all over the place. They tried to place it all under just anger issues, but it is really hard to understand him as a person, and feels like he would just do what a writer wants, not like how an actual person might react.

Jokes are still there, they just didn’t hit as hard. Some really funny moments, but I have already forgotten basically every best moment, unlike the best moments from Goon which I have quoted for years.

All in all, it is just an okay film. It won’t tarnish the memory of the first film, but also, it is one I won’t ever need to go back and see again. Oh well. Just don’t make it a trilogy and end it poorly.

Another Biased review? Probably.

I actually thought Goon would be pretty stupid though. (Another thought that biased this review). But I mean, its a hockey movie. Of course I am going to watch it. It is “based on true events” too, apparently, or at least the life of Doug Smith. For those that don’t know, a “Goon” on a hockey team is a player who doesn’t play much, is there to protect the star players, and fight when necessary. Often considered to be the worst kind of role, and one that is being mostly phased out by players who can actually skate and score.

Also it comes with the possibility for injuries.

Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) is a bouncer, and not a very smart man. His family is, and his brother is gay! But at a local hockey game, when him and his friend (Jay Baruchel, radio talk show host) are harassing a guy who just went to the penalty box, the guy gets mad and comes into the audience to fight back. When Glatt punches him out, he makes local headlines, and even gets a call from the minor team coach (Kim Coates) to come for a tryout.

Because he can kick some ass, and not feel too much pain, he gets a spot. Skating can come later. After all, the team at that point is 1-9 in the season. So why not? Well his first game he kicks some guys ass. Then the next game. But he makes some mistakes like not returning to the bench and letting the other team score. But he is trying hard and a nice guy.

On the team they also have veteran captain who is only good for pre game speeches (Richard Clarkin), the talented should be NHLer who got concussed and has never been the same (Marc-Andre Grondin). Eventually Glatt learns to skate and play better, becoming the heart of his team as they try and make the playoffs.

Also theres the plot of him finding “True love” with Alison Pill, who sleeps around a lot and is terrible for him, but he really likes. Not to mention the actual “tough guy” in their sport, who is retiring soon, and he probably will have to fight in the last game of the season, Ross Rhea (Liev Schrieber).

You don’t want to fuck with someone with that sort of facial hair.

Turns out, I really loved this movie. It was funny when it needed to be. But even more so it was kind of sweet, and mostly intense.

Every time he was on the ice, something crazy was going to happen. Whether it be a fight, a bad play, an unlikely goal, what have you. There was a good chance SOMEONE was about to be in a lot of pain, most notably the last two games he played in the movie. I cringed and yelled at what occurred, even covering my face, but I was loving it at the same time.

Sean William Scott is used to playing various levels of the “idiot” role, and I first noted that they weren’t at all identical in the movie American Loser. Well this is definitely another layer of that. Because this character is no where close to being an asshole, and it is easy to see how most people would love to just know a person like him, loyal and shit. Willing to punch someone else in the face for you. Almost like a bit of Forrest Gump, if you know, Forrest Gump was just a bit more violent.