Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story Blu-ray Movie Review

All in the Family

Reviewed by Michael Reuben June 24, 2013

Mr. Hockey is a production for The Hallmark Channel, which first aired the film in Canada on April 28, 2013, with a U.S. broadcast premiere the following week on May 4. With necessary concessions both for dramatic purposes and for Hallmark's family-friendly programming (never were rinks and locker rooms such curse-free zones), the film tells the true store of how legendary player Gordie Howe, so thoroughly identified with the sport that he and his wife, Colleen, became universally known as Mr. and Mrs. Hockey, retired from the National Hockey League (or "NHL") in 1972 after twenty-five years of professional competition, all of it with the Detroit Red Wings—but then shocked the world by coming out of retirement after two years. He continued playing until 1980, when he retired again at the age of 52. (Although it isn't covered in the film, Howe again came out of retirement briefly at the age of 69 so that he could play one shift with the Detroit Vipers in 1997 and be able to say he played professional hockey in six different decades.)

With a script by Malcolm MacRury (who has written for Deadwood and Earth: Final Conflict, among others) and direction by Andy Mikita (a producer and director for the multiple Stargate TV series), Mr. Hockey is more of a family drama than a sports movie. Hockey fans may be disappointed that there isn't more footage showing competition on the ice, but the film focuses primarily on the Howe family, which was both a major factor in, and was significantly altered by, Gordie Howe's decision to resume his professional career. The film is dedicated to Colleen Howe, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 76, and who is depicted as being every bit her husband's match in toughness and endurance.

Mr. Hockey opens with the 1972 retirement ceremony for Howe (Michael Shanks, who played Dr. Daniel Jackson in the Stargate series). It's a noble sendoff, but Howe soon finds himself bored and restless in his new role as a member of the Detroit Red Wings' front office. Both he and Colleen (Kathleen Robertson) are also unhappy that their two elder sons, Marty and Mark (Dylan Playfair and Andrew Herr), show real aptitude for the game and have reached an age at which Howe himself had already turned pro, but are prohibited from anything but amateur sports by the current NHL rules.

In what is considered by NHL officials to be an unforgivable betrayal, Colleen "shops" her two sons to the newly organized upstart World Hockey Association (or "WHA"), and both of them are drafted by the Houston Aeros. Their father, who had always dreamed of playing on a team with his sons, offers his services to the Aeros. Head coach (and Howe's former teammate) Bill Dineen (Martin Cummins) accepts, if Howe can pass the physical and prove he can still keep up with younger players during training. After a rocky start, Howe gets back in shape and recovers his former swagger. In the process, though, he endures plenty of ribbing from the likes of current WHA star Bobby Hull (Lochlyn Munro), as well as opposing teams eager to psych out the competition.

The true drama of Mr. Hockey, however, occurs within the Howe family. Colleen Howe is less than thrilled when her husband announces his latest decision. Her plans after his retirement had not included relocating the family from Detroit to Houston and building a whole new life as a hockey wife with a different team. Their daughter, Cathy (Emma Grabinsky), is furious that her entire existence is being uprooted for the sake of her older brothers, and the youngest son, Murray (Graham Mayes), feels the same, although he shortly disappears from the film without explanation. (A deleted scene reveals that Murray remained in Detroit, living with friends of the family. He eventually became a doctor.)

Marty and Mark are ambivalent to learn that their father will be their new teammate. They love and admire him, but they now have to play their first professional games in the shadow of a living legend. With no real precedent for working out the dynamics of how father-and-son teammates should relate, they have to make it up as they go along, and that ice has some rough patches. Howe Sr. cannot stop himself from jumping in whenever he sees one of his boys being attacked by an opposing team member. At the same time, he can't bring himself to prevent the hazing rituals that their own team inflicts on rookies, even though the boys' mother is angry at her husband's non-intervention. Over time, however—at least according to the movie script—the sons manage to carve out their own identity, though only Marty gets a girlfriend. Meanwhile, the combined celebrity of the three Howes helps raise the profile of the WHA and drives the NHL bosses to distraction (again, according to the script).

The steadiest hand in the family remains Colleen's, as she oversees everyone's comings and goings, carefully noted on a huge kitchen chart. As Gordie says, in case of fire, Mrs. Howe would grab the chart and run before rescuing any member of the family. Colleen thinks about it for a moment—and agrees.

Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mr. Hockey was shot by James Alfred Menard, another Stargate veteran. Although definitive information about the shooting format was not available, it has all the earmarks of digital photography, which has become the most common format for today's TV productions. The image on ARC Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is typical of capably produced television fare, in that the image is clean, well lit, reasonably detailed and free of noise or distortion. The color palette runs toward the cool end of the spectrum, even in the Houston scenes where everyone talks about the heat but you don't feel it in the image. The film's brief 86-minute running time is easily accommodated on a BD- 25, even with nearly a half hour of HD extras. No artifacts or compression errors were noticeable.

I must add that there are a few sections that use archival video or newsreel footage. These only look as good as the source will allow.

Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray's lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 is a typical TV mix: front-oriented, with sparing use of the surrounds and priority given to dialogue. Even the hockey scenes don't take much advantage of the 5.1 array, keeping the sonic activity in front, including even the cheering crowd. The serviceable score is by James Jandrisch (16 Wishes ).

Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 1.78:1; 25:15): This substantial collection of deleted material is presented in an undifferentiated group, with no listing or ability to select individual scenes. Much of the material is interesting, but it no doubt was trimmed to reach the stipulated length. The single largest subplot to have been cut down was Mickey's growing relationship with his girlfriend Mary (Ali Tataryn).



• Hallmark Channel/Cedar Cove TV Spot (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:25): This is a brief promo for director Mikita's upcoming series on the Hallmark Channel.



• Additional Trailers: At startup, the disc plays trailers (in 1080p) for The Hallmark Channel, Space Warriors, Return to Nim's Island, Unconditional and Amazing Racer which can be skipped with the chapter forward button and are not otherwise available once the disc loads.

Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Long-time hockey fans will bring their own memories and opinions to Mr. Hockey, and their response to the film will depend on pre-existing attitudes toward the events depicted and the subsequent development of the sport. Newer fans may be sufficiently intrigued to investigate this colorful bygone era when some of the sport's enduring legends made their name. Either way, be sure to stay until the end, when director Mikita switches to footage of the real Howe in 1980. The continuity is a testament to how effectively Michael Shanks has embodied "Mr. Hockey" at an earlier stage of his career. Recommended.