Slap Shot won't go down as the best sports movie of all time, but it's certainly one of the finer hockey movies ever made. I guess that's not saying much, considering its competition consists primarily of Mighty Ducks and Swayze/Lowe/Reeves vehicles. I mean, come on, even a curling movie is being released this year -- surely some Hollywood studio will eventually make a hockey film that rises above generic sports fare... won't they?
Well, in the meantime, we have 1977's Slap Shot, which is certainly unique is in its approach to the sport. Here, hockey isn't about sportsmanship, finesse, skill or even scoring goals. It's about killing your opponent. And if you've ever been to a Maritime hockey game, there's an element of truth to this approach. The trouble, though, is precisely what brings so many other sports pictures down: anything that isn't related to the game itself comes off as trivial and forced. By far, the best scenes are on the ice, but the characters are given so little ice time, the movie really shoots itself in the skates. It nags with the potential to be much more.
This is a dirty movie. It's filmed to make the mood, the people, and the scenery as ugly as a typical hockey town could possibly be. Screen legend Paul Newman is the ugliest of them all, spewing venomous tirades and implementing a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush. Newman is hopelessly miscast as the aging coach of the Charlestown Chiefs, a financially strapped team up for sale at the end of the season. His team of goons includes the Hanson Brothers (Jeff Carlson, Steve Carlson, and David Hanson), Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean), Killer Carlson (Jerry Houser), and the French goalie Jean-Guy Drouin (Yvan Ponton, who has a hilarious opening interview scene). The team is managed by Joe McGrath (Strother Martin), and Newman's ex-wife is played by Lindsay Crouse. The Chiefs manage to turn things around and win some games, but story-wise the sudden burst of popularity doesn't ever come together. By the time the inevitable big championship game comes around, it has all the build-up of a sitcom rerun.
In spite of the inane subplots that serve basically as filler, the hockey scenes themselves are quite funny. Director George Roy Hill doesn't quite harness the speed of the sport, but on several occasions he presents the players in interesting respects. A lot of the jokes don't really go anywhere, and many of them are simply offensive and jarring by today's PC standards. I suppose if Slap Shot had a little bit more heart, it would defeat the purpose of its rugged exterior, but I kept hoping for more connection with the players. Maybe, to really understand, I should have played ice hockey in my youth. Or maybe I should next subject myself to Ducks, Swayzes and Reeves before posting my final impression of this film.
