Goon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Goon Blu-ray Movie Review

The gloves are off.

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater May 29, 2012

If you're going to make a movie about a rough and rowdy minor league hockey team, you better come out swinging, because the 1977 Paul Newman comedy Slap Shot hits seriously hard. Not only is it indisputably the best hockey film ever made, it stands strong against all sports movies. GQ even listed it among the "Thirty Films that Changed Men's Lives." So, when I first heard about Goon, I had one thought: Good luck. You'll need it. As it turns out, fortune—or, at least, a great script and some terrific performances—has smiled on Goon. It's good. Not quite Slap Shot good, but funny and balls-out violent and surprisingly tender, with one of the most memorable underdog sports heroes in years.

Doug "The Thug" Glatt

The film's creative pedigree will give you a good idea what to expect, comedy-wise. Goon was written by Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg—both of whom are regular Judd Apatow collaborators—and directed by Michael Dowse, the filmmaker behind FUBAR: The Movie and It's All Gone Pete Tong. (And Take Me Home Tonight, but we'll let that one slide.) All three are Canucks, and the movie couldn't be more distinctly Canadian, with more eh's than you can count, an unabashed love of hockey as a national pastime, and a lead character who's polite to the point of absurdity.

That would be Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott), a going-nowhere bouncer and hockey fan from rural Massachusetts. His dad (Eugene Levy) and brother are doctors, making Doug the unambitious black sheep of his well-heeled Jewish family. Not to put it too bluntly, but he's about as dumb as a sheep too, although he's exceptionally nice—almost childlike—and usually docile. I use usually because when he is provoked he responds with "a fist the size of my Uncle Bernie's prostate," as one character eloquently puts it. His best friend, Pat (Jay Baruchel)—who hosts a cable access hockey show— calls him "the Hebrew Dolph Lundgren."

The moniker fits, and Doug's face-pummeling abilities get him noticed when a player at a local hockey game gets out of line, hopping out of the rink and into the crowd. Doug lays the guy on his back—he actually splits the thug's helmet in half—and promptly receives a call from the team's head coach, asking him to try out as an "enforcer." For those who don't follow hockey, an enforcer is a player whose primary role is to avenge his teammates by doling out aggressive body checks and, when necessary, throwing down his gloves and busting some teeth. It's what Doug was born to do. Within a few weeks, he's transferred to the Halifax Highlanders—a minor league farm team—where he's expected to protect skilled skater Xavier Laflamme (Marc-Andre Grondin), a hotshot NHL prospect who's been skittish on the ice ever since he was cross-checked by grizzled enforcer Ross "The Boss" Rhea (Liev Schreiber), Doug's longtime idol.

Will Doug "The Thug" eventually face off against Ross "The Boss" in a bloody battle on the ice? Of course. Will there be a "big game"? For sure. Are the Highlanders made up of a motley crew of memorable lunatics and down-and-outers? You betcha. Will Goon stick like snow to every sports movie convention there is? Absolutely. But it doesn't matter. Doug's nobody-to-somebody story just works. For one, Baruchel and Goldberg's script balances laughs and genuine character development exceptionally well. Seann William Scott has made a career out of playing idiots—see: the entire American Pie series and Dude, Where's My Car?—but this is his best role yet by far. Scott's Doug is a lovable lughead, all innocent wonder and extreme good manners. He always says "please" and "thank you." He's kind to those who actively hate him, like Laflamme, who's jealous that Doug has taken his place as team hero. And when his sweetness inadvertently charms a self-professed "hockey groupie" (Scott Pilgrim's Alison Pill) into leaving her boyfriend, Doug even kneels down and lets the scorned guy punch him in the face. "When you deserve a beating," he says, "you take it."

And oh the beatings. Goon is practically a celebration of an aspect of hockey that's been increasingly downplayed in recent years—the badass tradition of on-ice fisticuffs. I mean, come on, what other team sport features action-stopping mano-a-mano fights that are actually tolerated by officials? It's no surprise that enforcers, though often the worst skaters and puck handlers, are usually fan favorites. Doug gets in some serious scrapes and let me assure you, there will be blood. And busted teeth. And black eyes. And broken bones. I defy you to make it through the movie without wincing. Of course, it's not all pain and injury; director Michael Dowse has a great handle on the more puck-oriented sequences, his camera swooshing low and fluidly over the ice and between the players. Although hockey followers will pick up on more of the in- jokes and slang, don't be deterred if you're not a fan of the sport, or even sports in general. Goon has a lot of fun playing with the cliches of the "underdog team" subgenre, but it's the characters that make the comedy so rich.

Goon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot digitally with the ever-popular Red One camera, Goon arrives on Blu-ray with a 1.78:1, 1080p/AVC-encoded picture that's as sharp as a skate's blade and as clean as a newly Zamboni'd ice rink. Well, mostly. There are some brief spikes in noise—almost certainly source related, not a compression issue—and I did spot two or three rare instances of aliasing, but otherwise, this is a great-looking encode, with no real quirks or distractions. The level of clarity is nearly always excellent, with easily visible facial and clothing textures in closeups and resolved lines even in longer shots. Color-wise, the film goes for a very naturalistic look, often using a mixture of incandescent and fluorescent lights to give the image a simultaneously warm and cold cast. Skin tones are consistent, black levels are sufficiently deep, and contrast is vivid without looking over-processed. As you'd hope, there are no signs of edge enhancement or digital noise reduction either. There's not much that you might call eye candy here, but this looks to me like a presentation that's entirely true to intent.

Goon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, Goon's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track gets almost everything right. Let me start with my one quibble: There are times, especially during the sonically hectic games, when the dialogue sounds just a hair too low. It's never to the extent that it's difficult to make out what's being said, but the vocals could probably stand to be dialed up a few decibels in certain scenes. No big deal, though, and otherwise the track does exactly what it needs to do—deliver an engaging, dynamically grounded mix that brings the sport of hockey to life. The rear channels aren't always in action, but they're used frequently enough for ambient crowd noise and occasional cross-channel effects. More impressively, it's clear that the sound designers wanted to get the fighting just right, because the body blows and face jabs are all aurally brutal. The slice and spray of skates cutting across the ice sounds great too. For those that need or want them, the disc includes optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles, which appear in easy-to-read white lettering.

Goon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Power Play Mode: Activate this mode before watching the film and you'll periodically see a clickable icon that will take you to interviews, on-set footage, makeup sessions, fight choreography outtakes, and more. All told, there's 45- minutes worth of material here, all of it in 1080p. If you'd rather not interrupt the film itself, you can also play all of the clips from the extras menu.
• Commentary with Director Michael Dowse and Co-Writer/Actor Jay Baruchel: "Lock up your daughters, this is the Goon DVD commentary," says Baruchel, pretty much announcing the tone of this often filthy and frequently hilarious track. It's clear that Dowse and Baruchel had a blast making the film together.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 9:10): Six deleted scenes.
• Outtakes/Blooper Reel (1080p, 5:36)
• Interview with Seann William Scott and Jay Baruchel (1080p, 29:34): A great half-hour interview with Scott and Baruchel that covers the writing of the film, the characters, and more.
• HDNet: A Look at Goon (1080i, 4:54): A typical HDNet promo, with clips from the film and snippets of the above interview.
• Goalie Audition (1080p, 5:20): Jonathan Cherry's audition tape, which features him going to town on a shake weight.
• Fighting 101 (1080p, 3:48): "Pat Houlihan" teaches us how to fight.
• Goon Hockey Cards (1080p): Fake trading cards for all the key players.
• Theatrical Greenband Trailer (1080p, 2:23)
• Theatrical Redband Trailer (1080p, 2:33)
• Also from Magnolia Home Entertainment (1080p, 7:07)

Goon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It might not be the best hockey movie ever made—that distinction will probably always go to Slap Shot—but I have no problem putting Goon at #2. (Sorry, The Mighty Ducks.) There's just so much to like about this movie —it's crass, funny, and violent as hell, but it's also as tender as a bruise, with a dim-witted but sweet protagonist who's definitely worth cheering for. Magnolia's Blu-ray release is a winner as well, with a great high definition image, lossless audio, and a selection of special features that will keep you occupied for a few hours. Recommended!