Film Review: Seann William Scott Skates Through Funny ‘Goon’

Submitted by BrianTT on March 30, 2012 - 1:04pm

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Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Seann William Scott gives a surprisingly engaging, even sweet performance as the title character in the brutal, raunchy hockey comedy “Goon,” written by “Superbad” scribe Evan Goldberg and comedy actor Jay Baruchel. This “Slap Shot meets Fight Club” is a definite must-see for hockey fans but feels a little too slight for everyone else. Still, there’s a lot to like here, especially for those who want an interesting alternative On Demand (it’s already available there and opening in Chicago theaters today, March 30th, 2012).

I’ve never been quite sure what to think of Scott as an actor. What he pulled off in that first “American Pie” movie made him an overnight sensation but we’ve all seen that most of the actors from those comedies never topped its pop cultural peak. But Scott didn’t go away, making some smart choices by appearing in some memorable dumb comedies – “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” “Old School,” “The Rundown,” “Role Models”. He popped up in the “Ice Age” movies and probably made an easy fortune there and then started appearing in some truly interesting oddities like “Southland Tales” and “The Promotion.” Still, “Role Models” was three years ago and I wondered if Scott had another act in him. Enter “Goon,” arguably the actor’s best performance to date.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Goon” in our reviews section.

Scott stars in the “based on a true story” tale of Doug Glatt, a small-town bouncer with a disapproving father (Eugene Levy) and simple expectations of life. Choosing to play Glatt as more of a self-aware sweetheart with a wicked right hook than an over-confident boob with an anger issue, Scott turns Glatt into a likable, relatable guy. He’s convinced that he doesn’t have the smarts or the skills to climb too far up the ladder of life but he seems OK with that. Until he goes to a hockey game with his buddy Pat (Baruchel) on a fateful evening. A player tires of Pat’s taunting and climbs into the stands, throwing gay slurs around on his way up. Doug has a gay brother. He’s not OK with that. He beats the hockey player to a bloody pulp and the coach notices, asking Glatt to try out for the team even though he can’t really skate or shoot. They could use an enforcer.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Goon” review.

“Goon” stars Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, and Liev Schreiber. It was written by Baruchel & Evan Goldberg and directed by Michael Dowse. It opens in Chicago on March 30th, 2012 and is already available On Demand. It is rated R.