Goon is one of the best sports movies I have seen in recent years. It takes the best parts of Slap Shot and modernizes it for a new generation. Who knew hockey enforcers could make such intriguing characters?
Goon follows Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott), a twenty-something bar bouncer who’s seen by his parents (played by Eugene Levy and Ellen David) as a disappointment. While defending his friend (Jay Baruchel) from a hockey fight at a hockey game, Doug garners the attention of the team’s coach, who hires Doug to protect the team’s star prima donna (Marc-Andre Grondin). Meanwhile, an older enforcer in the league, Ross Rhea (Liev Schrieber), takes notice of Doug’s talents, and challenges him to carry on the torch he has held for years.
I was amazed how much I related to the characters in this movie, which is a testament to the writing. Doug and Ross both are content in their role as this violent hated person because it provides them both with a sense of purpose. From Doug’s perspective, he had found purpose where there was none, and from Ross’s perspective, he is terrified to give up what has defined who he is. Every person has to deal with this conflict, which grounds the story and makes it easy to understand the stakes of each of the characters.
Another testament to the writing is just how easily the blend is between emotion and comedy. There are some tear-inducing moments of both types: the comedy usually stems from Doug’s eclectic teammates and his openly heterosexual best friend, and the emotion comes out of Doug’s interactions with his parents and a girl he likes (Allison Pill). Not all of the subplots pay off, but the strength of the main story hid the flaws of some of the other storylines.
An underrated feature of this movie is the use of hockey world. The fights, though embellished, are as violent as they appear at real games. The players in this league and the situations they find themselves in were fascinating and well understood (the movie is based on a book), and the die hard fan base of these teams is properly explored and executed.
A lion’s share of the credit goes to the acting. Seann William Scott, Stifler himself, was the backbone of the movie. Scott really understands what drives this character and tones down all his shenanigans to give a very quiet, funny, and dignified contentment to Doug Glatt. Also noteworthy were Jay Baruchel as Doug’s friend and Liev Schrieber in the limited scenes he was in.
A great sports movie realizes that the reason the story is great is because of the emotion and motivation of the people who are participating in the game. Goon understands these points, and uses them to build to the inevitable clash between Doug Glatt and Ross Rhea. By the time Goon gets there, Doug’s resiliency makes you want to go to war with him. No wonder hockey enforcers are usually loved by their teammates.