Canadian actor Jay Baruchel wrote and co-stars in this adaptation of the life story of Doug Smith, an unlikely hockey star who played here in the Maritimes a generation ago. Seann William Scott plays Doug Glatt, the black sheep of a high-achieving family who is not the quickest thinker but has a good heart and impeccable manners, going so far as to apologize to the drunks he throws out of a local bar.
While coming to the defense of his gay brother, Doug catches the attention of a local hockey coach and is invited to a tryout. He can’t skate and does not have a very good instinct for the game, but he can take and deliver punches better than anyone. With some assistance, he catches up on the basics and is traded to a minor-league team to serve as protection for a troubled young prospect. Along the way he meets and develops a crush on a local hockey fan called Eva (Scott Pilgrim’s Alison Pill).
You might expect a film about hockey (and especially fighting in hockey) to try to be the next Slap Shot, but Goon is a lot more like Bull Durham: a charming and authentic world that we have the pleasure to visit. It’s the best performance I can recall by Scott with a solid supporting cast.
