I saw this film on Netflix the other day under my recommendations list, and I began to wonder why I had never given this film a watch before. I mean, Netflix gave the film 4.5 stars and said that Jake, that'd be me, would really enjoy it. So, I decided to be considerate to the almighty Netflix and give this film a watch. Let me just start by saying... this film hit me square in the face...pun INTENDED. This is my review of:
Doug Glatt, played by Seann William Scott, is a down on his luck Security Guard/Bouncer. He's not really the brightest crayon in the box, and his father, played by Eugene Levy, just loves to remind him of that. His smart-ass, vulgar best friend, Pat, played by the lovable Jay Baruchel, is a failing sports talk-show host that is constantly trying to boost his pal's spirits. One day, Pat takes Doug to a local hockey game, where he gets into a fist fight with an outraged player. Doug soon learns that he has a hidden talent for both taking and delivering punches and is quickly recruited by the hockey team to serve as the team's enforcer. Although not particularly prone to the sport, Doug nonetheless carries the local team to great heights with his uncanny punching bag abilities. His talent soon lands him as a primary enforcer for a minor league hockey team, the Highlanders, to play alongside former all-star, Xavier Laflamme, played by Marc-Andre Grondin, who suffered a devastating blow to the head that effectively ruined his career. Meanwhile, Hockey Legend, Ross Rhea, played by Liev Schreiber, has recently been demoted to the minor leagues for causing the same head injury that affected Laflamme. Rhea is known for his harsh behavior and mad fighting skills, and Doug seems to be the only one who can take him on. Can Doug inspire Laflamme back to the top? Can his skills give the Highlanders a winning edge? Can he take on the mad dog, Ross "the Boss" Rhea? All this...and more...in Goon.
Sound familiar? Well, it should. It's the Rocky story. Guy learns he has a great sports-related talent that sky-rockets him to greatness. He's a tough guy, but he's got a good heart. He's got a smart-alack companion, and an opponent that is essentially his foil, tough but threatening. Only this time, it's not Boxing...it's Hockey. When watching this movie, a few sports-related cliches WILL pop out at you...that is expected. However, does the film do it's job of taking Hockey-Rocky and making it an enjoyable sports comedy? The answer is...well...Yes...In fact it does!
Now, I won't be the first to say that I absolutely "adore" sports movies. In fact, I find most of them pretty cliche and kind of boring. Actually, my second least favorite movie of all time is a sports movie (We'll get to that review another time...). So, this movie really had to have a lot of things to win me over. Suffice it to say...it totally did! This film had superb acting, three dimensional characters, and a story that focused on heart rather than outright raunchiness.
Let's look at the cast line up here...Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Jay Baruchel, Marc-Andre Grondin, Liev Schreiber...pretty decent casting, I'd say. Eugene Levy plays the Jewish father that tries really hard to over-jew things and Jay Baruchel plays.....Jay Baruchel...both of those are nothing really new. However, the three that really stole the show for me were Schreiber, Scott, and Grondin. Schreiber straight up has a blast playing the asshole in this movie. His character, Ross Rhea, literally pulls no punches. He's a dirty fighter...he hit poor Laflamme in the back of the head with a hockey-stick. He's a conniving fighter and convincing liar. It was a role that Schreiber truly made his own. Schreiber is the kind of actor that looks like he was built for protagonist roles. When I look at his face...I see a guy who looks like he will eat my face off..and laugh about it later. Surprisingly enough...this is the kind of character he was meant to play. Great casting. Grondin's character was a little more complex, and I'll get into his character later, but he had to pull off a tricky role: a self-righteous douche bag that we are supposed to feel sorry for later. Not easy, I know. Somehow, he manged to do that. I couldn't really tell if it was the way he said his lines or how he handled most of this facial expression and body language, but I was kicking myself when I actually started to feel something for this poor asshole. Give Grondin an award for pulling off a hard role to perform. Lastly, Scott had 2 obstacles to overcome: 1) Break through his Steve Stifler persona...and 2) Make the audience respect the macho-meatbag. In short...he does both. Seann William Scott is a much better actor than I think the public gives him credit for. His role in the American Pie franchise has given him this identity of a loud, obnoxious delinquent, and in truth, I went in thinking his character would be just that. What I saw instead, was a totally different. Scott had to play the usual dimwit macho-man, but his ability to make that character so lovable and relatable was nothing short of fantastic. If you aren't a fan of the movie, you should at least recognize that the acting was downright excellent. Some of the best I've seen in a comedy.
Something you probably thought you'd never seen in a sports comedy/drama....Interesting characters! We'll start with Doug, because frankly the movie is all about him. Like I said, making the meat-head respectable is not easy. First off, it is jut impossible to not like Doug. He may be a little dumb, but he's just so innocent, awkward, and enthusiastic that you just have to love him. Doug is the kind of character that flat out knows how dumb he really is. He knows he isn't capable of being anything but a glorified thug, but he is happy doing it. Others may not respect him or his job, including his father, but he respects himself enough that it never bothers him. He loves making people happy and fighting for his team. He's almost always walking on sunshine. To me, that makes Doug one of the most three dimensional characters in the movie. If you ask me, it takes a good amount of courage to admit how little you really know. Next, we will talk about Laflamme. Laflamme is the hockey player that fell from grace because of an injury. He was demoted to the minors and eventually just gave up on himself and the sport. He turned to drugs, started sleeping with whores, and began disrespecting himself and his team. The fans started to hate him, so he started to hate himself. Laflamme is the kind of character you'd usually want to see kicked in the balls, but in this movie's case...I really didn't. This is the douche-bag that didn't deserve to be a douche-bag. When Doug finally rolled around, the motivation he needed had arrived. Without spoiling too much...about halfway through the movie, Doug gets praised for his abilities and Laflamme gets chastised for his behavior. Laflamme ends up punching Doug in the face in a fit of anger, and Doug responds by saying this:
"You know....right now, I should punch your teeth out....but I won't do that. You know why? Because you are my teammate. I got your back, just like you should have mine."
Doug certainly acts as the catalyst and the representation of the motivation Laflamme used to have. They are the Yin to each other's Yang. Yes, it is really easy to hate Laflamme, but when you get to the heart of what makes him what he is...it is much more sympathetic than it is despise. With Ross Rhea...there really isn't much to say. This guy is a fun fun fun fun antagonist. He gives off this Shere Khan kind of attitude. He's just so badass and he knows just how much. He's condescending. He's intimidating. He's the kind of villain that could be threatening without even trying to do it. He really does this job well by enticing the audience to cheer for Doug and Laflamme, hoping that they will win in the end.
I said it before, and I'll say it again: If you purposely sit there and count every single sports cliche in this movie, you will not enjoy it. The story has been done before, that much is obvious...but that does not mean the story isn't interesting. This is a story that is completely driven by the hearts and motivation of these characters. I didn't even begin to tell you about some of the side characters that keep this movie hilarious! The story focuses entirely on displaying these characters rising from the ground up. Because these characters are so interesting and vivid, you genuinely want them to succeed as you are immersed into the story. You begin to overlook many of the cliches you'd normally see, and instead, enjoy the ride. The story also includes several slow, deep emotional moments that help build sympathy for the main character. I found this to be very well-played. In most comedies nowadays, many of the emotional scenes of character development are rushed through or even overlooked so that the film can maximize the amount of raunchy humor. This is a film that found a very good balance. There are scenes with good amount of humor, and there are just as many scenes of quality character growth. If you ask me, if we develop and emotional involvement to the story and the characters...the jokes will be three times as funnier. All in all...it was a very well-paced and well-told story. If it's one thing I really enjoy...it's a comedy with heart.
I will not pretend that this movie is perfect...because it is not. There are maybe two things in this movie that I wish would've been done differently. First off, Doug does go through a romantic relationship in this movie. I can honestly say I gave two shits about it. The girl he falls for, Eva, played by Alison Pill, is a self-admitted train-wreck when it comes to relationships. She gets drunk one night and effectively takes advantage of Doug. Doug, being the lovable innocent person he is, falls for her and asks her out. She meets with him only to tell him that she has a boyfriend. She cheated on her boyfriend to take advantage of such a sweet guy like Doug. I think I speak for everyone in the audience when I say....what a bIOOOTCH. Throughout the course of the movie, Doug and Eva's relationship does progress towards an ultimate conclusion that I honestly did not care about. If you ask me...they could've left that entire arc out of the movie, and I still would've enjoyed it. To put it simply, you are definitely going to like Doug more than you will ever like Eva. Lastly, there isn't as much focus on the drama Doug faces with his parents, who are disappointed in his choices. There is a scene or two where it is developed, but I would've liked to see done further. In fact, why the hell didn't they cut the whole relationship arc out and just focus on a drama that people actually care about?! Oh well, I know I'm seeing it how I wanted it, rather than for what it is. Still, I would've liked to see that done.
Would I recommend Goon? Well...the answer is...absolutely I would. This film was not mass-released in theaters, so not many people know about it, which I think is very unfortunate. This film deserves the right to be known about. It is truly one of the best sports movies I have seen in a long time. It's standard, but different at the same time. Hilariously raunchy...but heartfelt as well. It's a sports movie for those that don't really like sports movies! It is currently on Netflix, and definitely worth 2 hours of your time. If you haven't seen it yet...give it a watch. You'll be glad you did!
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