Goon

Often hilarious, this Canadian comedy works because it isn’t trying to be terribly arch or clever. The humour is broad and exceptionally crude but strong performances from a cast who are clearly enjoying themselves and a script that delivers on laughs with impressive regularity ensure that this isn’t the mess that rightly should be. And miracle of miracles, it is a sports film that sticks rigidly to the usual formula but isn’t so boring that makes you want to punch your own face.

Scott plays Doug Glat, slow on the uptake but handy with his fists, who comes to the attention of his local hockey team’s manager when he gives a fellow spectator a good hiding for slagging off his gay brother. The manager is in need of an enforcer – someone whose purpose is not to score goals but to protect his team-mates and intimidate the opposition by beating the crap out of them on a regular basis. Despite the fact that Doug can barely skate, he proves adept at this and quickly moves up the rankings with a transfer to another team. He is expected to protect star player LaFlamme (Marc-Andre Grondin) whose last meeting with a decent enforcer (Liev Schreiber) left him terrified to play hockey.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who sees Goon that it emerges from the same talent pool that created Knocked Up and Superbad. Jay Baruchel (best known for playing the skinny kid in Million Dollar Baby) plays Doug’s crude best mate Pat but also co-wrote the script with Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Pineapple Express). So it’s no shock that the humour here plays to a low common denominator even if it is refreshingly light on toilet jokes. That kind of humour isn’t for everybody but if you buy into it Goon is very funny. It is also almost entirely absent of the sexism that slightly marred the likes of Knocked Up.

The film relies heavily on Scott’s pitch perfect performance. Things never really took off for him despite breaking out from the highly successful American Pie series and making a decent stab at becoming a leading man with The Dukes of Hazzard and Role Models. His star is one that is very much on the wane but in Doug Glat, he has been given his best role since Stifler and he draws on all the things he is best at – playing endearing morons – to really carry the film. Baruchel and Schreiber have a lot of fun in support and Alison Pill gets some laughs playing that rarest of things – a relatively well rounded female in a male dominated comedy.

One of the taglines for Goon is “Punch destiny in the face”. If that doesn’t make you laugh, it may not be for you but enter into the spirit of the thing and you will be richly rewarded.

Stars: ****