Marc-Andre Gondrin | Through the Shattered Lens

Here at the Shattered Lens, Leonard Wilson is our resident hockey expert. He can tell you all about the in and outs of the game in general and the New York Rangers in specific.

Myself, I know very little about hockey. Here’s what I do know:

It’s played on the ice and with a puck.
There are a lot of fights.
All of my Canadian friends love it.
It’s a sport that is mentioned many times on Degrassi.
Two hockey players won the 22nd season of The Amazing Race.
Back in 2011, I followed Arleigh’s suggestion and watched a hockey movie called Goon. Surprisingly, I really, really liked it.

Six years ago, I started my review of Goon by admitting that I didn’t know anything hockey so not much has changed. However, while I still may not know much about hockey, I am currently obsessed with the Winter Olympics. And, of course, hockey is a big part of the Winter Games. Since I’m currently watching movies about winter sports, today seemed like the perfect time to watch 2016’s Goon: The Last of The Enforcers and get caught up on the story of Doug Glatt.

Who is Doug Glatt? As played by Seann William Scott, Doug Glatt is probably one of the nicest guys that you could ever hope to meet. He’s not particularly smart. He’s the type who responds to almost comment with a slightly confused smile. He tend to take things literally. But he’s a genuinely sweet guy and it’s impossible not to like him.

Except, of course, when he’s on the ice. Doug is a semi-pro hockey player, playing for the Halifax Highlanders. Even his biggest fans will admit that Doug isn’t the best hockey player of all time. However, no one can throw a punch like he can. Doug’s an enforcer. His specialty is beating up the opposing team. When his coach (Kim Coates) needs to intimidate the other team, he sends Doug out with orders to beat someone up. Doug has no problem breaking someone’s nose but he usually apologizes afterward. He’s known as The Thug.

Doug is married to Eva (Allison Pill), who loves hockey but, now that she’s pregnant, she worries about Doug getting seriously injured. These worries come true when Doug gets into a fight with Anders Cain (Wyatt Russell), a fearsome enforcer on another team. (Anders just happens to be the son of the owner of the Highlanders.) Cain not only leaves Doug crumpled up on the ice but he also injures Doug’s right shoulder, making it difficult for Doug to throw a punch with his right hand. It appears that Doug’s playing days are over. Doug ends up working in the storage room of an insurance company while the Highlanders continue on without him. Adding insult to injury, Anders is soon signed by the Highlanders and given Doug’s old position as team captain.

As much as Doug tries to move on, he keeps finding himself drawn back to hockey. When he runs into a former rival, Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber), who is now making a living as a glorified gladiator, Doug realizes that he can learn how to fight with his left fist. But with Eva not wanting him to fight anymore, Doug is forced to decide which team he’s going to play for, the Highlanders or his family?

Especially when compared to the first Goon, Goon: Last of the Enforcers is an extremely busy film. Beyond Doug trying to adjust to life off the ice, the film also deals with Anders Cain’s relationship with his father, the locker room shenanigans of the Highlanders, Ross Rhea’s attempt to make a comeback, and the antics of obnoxious sports reporter Chad Bailey (T.J. Miller). That’s a lot for one film to deal with and it’s not surprising that the end result is an uneven mishmash of raunchy comedy and sports-themed melodrama. Whereas the first Goon worked because it kept things simple and sincere, Goon: Last of the Enforcers is way too complicated for its own good.

That said, as played by Seann William Scott, Doug is just as likable as he was in the first film and Scott and Allison Pill still make for an adorable couple. In fact, the entire cast does a pretty good job, especially Wyatt Russell and Liev Schreiber. The film doesn’t really work but, for fans of the first film, it’s still enjoyable enough. If nothing else, it’s nice to see how things work out for Doug Glatt.

Hi there! Continuing my effort to get caught up, here are six more films that I saw earlier this year but, for whatever reason, had not reviewed yet.

1) Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (dir by Alison Klayman)

One of my favorite films of 2012 was this revealing documentary about the Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei. Filmed over the course of two years, this film follows Ai as he uses the tools of social media to try to stand up to the oppressive Chinese government. In the film’s strongest scenes, Ai reveals how the government attempted to cover up the massive destruction of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. For his efforts to give identities to the victims of this natural disaster, Ai is beaten by the police and eventually imprisoned.

Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry is a film that should be seen by anyone who thinks that any greater good can be accomplished by sacrificing personal freedom.

2) Goon (dir by Michael Dowse)

Based on a true story, Goon tells the story of Doug Glatt (played, in a winning performance, by Seann William Scott), a Boston bouncer who joins a minor league hockey team. Eventually, he gets called up to play in Canada and faces his idol (and new rival) Ross Rhea (played by Liev Schreiber) on the ice. Along the way, he also romances a hockey groupie (Alison Pill) and befriends a burned out teammate (Marc-Andre Gondrin).

I have to thank Arleigh for suggesting that I see Goon because, otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have given this film a chance. I don’t know much about sports in general and I know even less about hockey. (Leonard is our resident hockey expert here at the Shattered Lens.) However, Goon turned out to be a truly pleasant surprise, a sports film that even someone like me can enjoy.

While the film’s plot may be predictable, director Dowse and his cast tell the story well and they all manage to strike the perfect balance between humor, melodrama, and sentimentality. Seann William Scott is usually not thought of as being a versatile actor but, on the basis of his performance here, he deserves to be reevaluated. Williams makes Doug Glatt into a truly likable thug and he and Alison Pill make for a very cute and likable couple. When you start watching Goon, you know where the journey is going to lead you but that doesn’t make the trip any less enjoyable.

3) Headhunters (dir by Morten Tyldum)

In 2012, one of the best thrillers to be released in America was this import from Norway. Roger Brown (played by Askel Hennie) is Norway’s most successful corporate headhunter. Along with having a beautiful wife, Roger also has a mistress and all the other material trappings of wealth. Despite this, Roger is insecure over only being 5’6 and he deals with his insecurity by pursuing a second, secret career as an art thief. When Roger discovers that Clas, his latest client, is having an affair with his wife, Roger breaks into Clas’s apartment and steals a valuable painting. However, it turns out that Clas is not only a trained mercenary but he’s also a psychotic killer and soon, he’s pursuing Roger.

Headhunters is a truly exciting film, one that actually keeps the audience guessing with each twist and turn. Best of all, the film features a truly memorable lead performance from Askel Hennie. Playing the type of character who, in the past, would have been played by Klaus Kinski, Henie makes his sleazy character into an odd likable and compelling hero.

4) Jeff, Who Lives At Home (dir by Jay and Mark Duplass)

Jeff (Jason Segal) is a 30 year-old unemployed stoner who lives in his mother’s basement and who spends his day obsessing on the movie Signs and talking about his belief in Destiny. One day, he gets a phone call from some one asking for “Kevin.” Jeff reacts by finally leaving his mom’s basement and searching for this mysterious Kevin. Meanwhile, Jeff’s brother (Ed Helms) is convinced that his wife (Judy Greer) is cheating on him and Jeff’s lonely mom (Susan Sarandon) spends her workday at work getting messages from a secret admirer.

Not much happens in Jeff, Who Lives At Home and the film dares you to get as annoyed with Jeff as everyone else in his family. However, when taken on its own mellow terms, this is an enjoyable and occasionally even moving film. It helps if you really like Jason Segal and seriously, who doesn’t? Susan Sarandon gives a touching performance as well and the filmmakers make excellent use of Helms’ needy persona.

5) The Philly Kid (dir by Jason Connery)

Dillon (Wes Chatham) is a college wrestler who is wrongly convicted for the murder of a police officer. After spending ten years in prison, Dillon is paroled and returns to his home in Baton Rouge. Managed by his friend Jake (a manic Devon Sawa), Dillon becomes a cage fighter and ultimately finds himself fighting for his life against corrupt promoters and a crooked cop.

The Philly Kid is a pretty uneven film. The plot will never surprise you and, halfway through the film, The Philly Kid descends into over-the-top melodrama. However, both Chatham and Sawa give good performances and, as directed by Jason Connery, the film’s many fight scenes are vivid and exciting to watch. The film was filmed in Baton Rouge and it makes good use of the Louisiana atmosphere.

The Philly Kid may ultimately just be a genre film but it’s a well-done genre film.

6) Safety Not Guaranteed (dir. by Colin Trevorrow)

Kenneth (Mark Duplass) is the type of person that we’ve all met at some point in our life. He works as a clerk in a grocery store and spends his time talking about his dead girlfriend and how secret agents are watching his every move. He also claims to have built a time machine and posts a classified ad where he asks for someone to volunteer to go back in time with him. The ad is spotted by Jeff (Jake M. Johnson), a smarmy magazine writer in Seattle who travels to Kenneth’s hometown in order to investigate (and, it’s later revealed, track down an ex-girlfriend). Accompanying the reporter is Darius (played by Aubrey Plaza), a disillusioned intern who has her own reasons for wishing that she could go back into past. Following Jeff’s orders, Darius approaches and befriends Kenneth by claiming to be interested in his ad. While the well-meaning but paranoid Kenneth trains her for their trip into past, Darius finds herself falling in love with him…

Safety Not Guaranteed is one of those low-key, sweet natured films that I simply can’t help but love. The film views it’s damaged characters with a wry compassion and it wraps up its story with one of the best endings of 2012. Aubrey Plaza is best known for being sarcastic on Parks and Recreation but, with this film, she shows that she’s capable of doing a lot more.