Click here for a video version of this review: https://youtu.be/c6TxAXR2-fE
Doug Smith was an ice hockey enforcer who played over 60 games for seven teams over the course of his career. In June 2002 he wrote a book entitled Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey . That book was the basis for the 2012 movie Goon starring Seann William Scott. I've not read the book, but have known about the movie for quite a while, but never got around to watching it.
Here's the official description to give you an idea about what the movie focuses on:
Doug Glatt, a slacker who discovers he has a talent for brawling is approached by a minor league hockey coach and invited to join the team as the "muscle." Despite the fact that Glatt can't skate, his best friend, Pat, convinces him to give it a shot, and Glatt becomes a hero to the team and their fans, until the league's reigning goon becomes threatened by Glatt's success and decides to even the score.
While this is marketed as a comedy, its really not that funny. That's not say that its a drama though, because its not that serious. It never really fully commits to being either, so the end result for me just felt like a series of mildly interesting things happening.
What doesn't help this is the editing which moves everything along way too fast. It's almost like this was once a longer movie that was cut down to fit a 90min run time. Some scenes feel cut short and incomplete, and I felt like at times they're going "okay you get what's going on here, so we don't need to finish the scene, so let's move on to the next one!"
Add to that Jay Baruchel being extremely annoying any time he was on screen, and a side character having more of a story arc, and I felt myself regularly tuning out of this and checking how much time was left. This movie seems to have a bit of a cult following, but I really couldn't get pulled into it. There is a sequel out there, but I won't be busting any doors down to watch it.
Side note: If you're a hockey fan, make sure you watch the credits for some footage of the real Doug in action cracking heads on the ice.
