Goon was decidedly not a movie I was looking forward to. The main reason being that this not the adaptation of the Eric Powell comic The Goon, which is still somewhere suspended in development hell. This Goon is about hockey, a sport I don’t really like and Seann William Scott plays the lead and he is not what you would call an actor I get excited about. But early buzz around Goon made me take a closer look and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. This is by no means a masterpiece, but you can do much worse in the category of violent sports dramas.
Goon is about bouncer Doug Glatt (Scott), who works in some dive and has no real outlook on life. He is a bit of an embarrassment to his family, who are all doctors and such. When one night Doug’s friend Pat (Jay Baruchel, who also co-wrote the screenplay) starts to taunt the visiting team at a local hockey game things get out of hand. Pat is attacked by one of the players, but Doug defends him and floors the player without any problems. His actions catch the eye of the coach of the local team and he is asked to become an enforcer for the team. An enforcer is a player whose task it is to defend other players by any means necessary and clear a path to the enemy’s goal. A job well suited to Doug. If only he could skate. Doug goes on to become a successful player for the Halifax Highlanders, a minor league team. But relationships on the team are strained and morale is not exactly high. Goon is based on the book Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey by Adam Frattasio and Doug Smith.
Seann William Scott is excellent as the thuggish Doug. Doug is not the brightest bulb in the box and doesn’t aspire to be more than he is. He is content with what he does best… enforce. He is not one of those smart-mouthed players that we know from Paul Newman’s Slap Shot (1977) or Rob Lowe’s Youngblood (1986). Doug knows his place in the universe and that is refreshing to see. In fact, the only thing he aspires to is kicking the ass of Ross Rhea (played by a deliciously grubby Liev Schreiber), an aging enforcer from a rival team who knocked the wind out of one of Doug’s fellow players three years ago.
Make no mistake, Goon is an incredibly violent movie. Besides being a funny comedy the blood is splattered freely onto the ice. Teeth are broken, skulls crushed and bodies squashed against the boarding. If you are squeamish about bodily sports harm then you should maybe forego on watching Goon. I had a blast watching Goon. I could, however, live without Baruchel’s intense Boston accent, which was really hard on the ears. Scott is a revelation as the lovable thug. He gives Doug just enough depth for us to root for him. I can heartily recommend Goon to just about anybody.
My Movie Year 2012 
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