Goon (2012)

Touches You

A Masterpiece!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott, the "American Pie" series) is a slow witted and big hearted kind of guy without much ambition. He toils away as a bouncer in a bar, and it's when he manhandles a player while watching a hockey game that a coach (Nicholas Campbell, 'Da Vinci's Inquest') realizes his great potential for being an "enforcer". Doug is taught just enough hockey skills to get by, and is sent to the Halifax Highlanders, where he's watched over by coach Ronnie Hortense (Kim Coates, 'Sons of Anarchy') and is made to look out for star player Xavier LaFlamme (Marc-Andre Grondin, "C.R.A.Z.Y."). A legendary tough guy of the game, Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber, the "Scream" series) is soon to retire, and he sees Doug as the inheritor to his throne. And nice guy Doug falls in love with a young woman (Alison Pill, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World") who has her own self-esteem issues."Goon" is co-written and co-produced by supporting actor Jay Baruchel ("She's Out of My League") as a comic and yet heartfelt celebration of the violent side of hockey, brought to vivid life with a lot of bloody brutality. Inspired by real-life player Doug Smith (you see footage of him during the end credits), it actually, genuinely cares about its characters, which is appreciated, and gives weight to the saga. It ultimately tells a very familiar misfit makes good formula, and while it may hold no surprises, it's suitably rousing just the same. Moreover, you can tell this was made by people who are actually big fans of the game, and they do get the "feel" just right.Truth be told, the story thread regarding Doug as the black sheep of his family (both his dad (comedy legend Eugene Levy of 'SCTV' fame) and his brother are doctors) IS under-developed. Levy ends up with very little to do in the grand scheme of things. But some viewers may still enjoy how well paced the movie is and how well it cuts to the chase.The whole cast is great, and they add to the good vibes. Scott, in particular, is a standout, showing that there's much more to him than Steve Stifler and Steve Stifler-type roles. Schreiber is amusing as his nemesis, Pill is appealing, and Baruchel is a real live wire as Dougs' best bud. Curt Keilback is quite funny as the announcer for the games.While not exactly memorable in any way, "Goon" gets the blood pumping (and flowing) for a slick hour and a half. Michael Dowse (the "FUBAR" films, "It's All Gone, Pete Tong") directs, with engaging results.Seven out of 10.

This movie is about a bouncer who is considered the dumb one in his brainy family gets to be a goon in a team filled with under performing misfits and take them to a semi pro hockey glory by just beating up people who stands in his way.At the start of the movie I realized that this story is based on true events so I was excited I was sure this was going to be good one but no it did not. Why can't sports be fair like football, cricket etc., why there has to be violence or goons involved in the team. Is this ice hockey seriously all this violence why can't they join UFC or WBO and show their talents there. The acting of everyone was bad except for Lier Schreiber. The romance shown in this movie was extremely bad such bad chemistry. After seeing this movie I have no interests in watching ice hockey ever again. The ending of this movie was also predictable and nothing great.NO I would not recommend people to watch this movie.My Rating 0/10

Recruited by an ice hockey team, a bouncer discovers that the game is less about scoring goals and more about bashing the life out of his opponents in this sports comedy from Canada. Seann William Scott provides an earnest turn as the protagonist who has no interest in violence beyond defending others and there is a sweet romantic subplot further humanises him. The film is undermined though by focusing on all the fights that Scott gets into on the ice as opposed to the hockey games. All that ice hockey here seems to involve for Canadians is players clashing into one another and beating each other to pulp -- basically, boxing on ice -- and as someone unfamiliar with the sport, it is baffling how all the fights are championed by referees and considered part of the game. If anything like what occurs here happened in a soccer game, it would be an instant red/yellow card! Put more simply, one's mileage with the film may vary depending on one's familiarity with Canadian ice hockey; for a layman though, this is basically just a film about gory fights on ice. It is not particularly funny either with a gay brother and conservative, adoptive Jewish parents coming off as quirky for the sake of it. Sure, the film has some heart with Scott's gradual rise to fame and desire to be considered a real hockey player when he can barely skate, but this is a hard film to recommend to non-ice hockey fans.

I'm not usually one for sports movies. In fact I think I can count on one hand the ones I actually, really enjoyed. Goon, however, which skates miles ahead of all the others, is my favorite sports movie ever made, and one of my top comedies, period. It's written, acted and conveyed to its audience with such rowdy enthusiasm and earnest, lifelike character interaction that simply demands classic status. It's a film about hockey, but it's also not. It's mainly a film about dudes kicking the absolute ever loving crap out of each other, in some really impressive ice rink gladiatorial smackdowns to rival anything in Gladiator itself. It concerns players who are drafted based on their brute force alone, to distract, demolish and destroy their opposing team members, leaving the ice clear for the faster, more skilled players to go score a ton of goals. One such 'goon' is Doug Glatt (Sean William Scott), a big lovable dunce with a peanut brain, kind heart and the sheer force of a juggernaut hurricane when on the ice. Scott ditches the Stiffler shtick for a quieter brand of silliness, and he's never been better. When his brutal tactics are witnessed by small time coach '' Hortense (Nicholas Campbell, loopy perfection), he's sent to the farm leagues under the snarky rule of his brother, Coach Ronnie Hortense (Kim Coates). Saskatoon native Coates doesn't seem to know how to not steal any scene he's ever been in, and he's side-splitting here, a tornado of cynical, hopped up rage and pissy energy. His drunken speech is a highlight. Glatt soon meets his team, including spoiled golden boy prodigy turned relentless coke head Laflamme (Marc Andre Godin) skeevy Russian brothers Evgeny and Oleg, and hilarious Canadian whackjob Belchier (Jonathan Cherry). They're a pissss poor motley crew of morons, and they're losing their season spectacularly. Glatt's sweet disposition, blind optimism and invincible uppercuts soon turn things around for the better, though, until he meets his nemesis, Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber) another legendary thug with bone crunching plans for Doug. Schreiber is priceless, sporting a handlebar 'stache you could rope swing from, and a demented Canadian accent eh, clearly having the most fun in his career so far. Jay Baruchel shows up as Doug's crude DJ buddy, Alison Pill as Doug's slutty love interest, and Eugene Levy as his unappreciative father. The scenes of ice bound action are crisply filmed, the fight scenes exploding in triumphantly bloody standoffs of R rated glory. The humour comes hard and fast from a whip smart script that's faster than the puck, sharper than the skates and funnier than any other sports themed flick I've seen before.