Goon bares a striking resemblance to Kevin Smith's upcoming hockey drama, Hit Somebody!, named after the famous Warren Zevon song. That film, too, is about a hockey player who can't do much more than fight, but is determined to keep his team protected. The only difference is that the song seemed to be more about a man's personal dream of being a successful hockey player despite his poor performances in games, while Goon pretty much stops at "a man who is good at fighting on ice." But that doesn't mean it's not an efficient comedy. Rather than creating a desperately unlikable character and tacking on a contrived romance, like in Happy Gilmore, Goon constructs a likable, if not simple-minded character who we come to not only sympathize with, but yet, kind of love. The character is Doug Glatt, played very well by Seann William Scott. Glatt isn't as smart as his father and brother, whom are both doctors, and feels extremely isolated because of it. His best friend, played by the unnecessarily vulgar and crude Jay Baruchel, takes him to a hockey game one day where, after a fight with a player, Doug finds out he has a knack for fighting.
This brings him to the attention of a coach who recruits Doug as team enforcer, where he is expected to protect the players and the team at all times. At first, Doug can't skate or even control a puck, but he proves to be more than a fighting caricature later on in his career.
The film is inevitably sweet and pretty heartfelt, despite its simple nature. There is a love story, which the film could do without, but the film refuses to become gooey or heavy-handed and simply looks at it as a secondary plot-point rather than an obligation in storytelling. The direction by Michael Dowse, of Take Me Home Tonight fame, is well done and there's a very nice coherency during the fight scenes.
As far as the fight scenes go, I was expecting them to be rushed, cartoony, and a bit too comical, but they're not. They're actually gritty, realistic, and a little dark. They show a bit of wear after fight number four or five, but the direction, setup, and pacing that comes before these fights does the best it can to avoid redundancy. It actually works quite favorably.
Written by Baruchel and Superbad's Evan Goldberg, Goon is a comedy about a likable character who does unlikable things because he is good at them. There's nothing totally wrong with that. It's not like in Super, where a man runs around in tights bashing peoples' heads in with a wrench because they cut in line at a movie theater. Doug Glatt isn't a monster - he's a character. One who becomes developed more than the simple plot would lead us to believe. This is a fun comedy. Not urgent, exciting, or a laugh riot, but a fun, character-driven comedy with heart. We need more of those today.
Starring: Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, and Eugene Levy. Directed by: Michael Dowse.
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