''Goon'' is a 2011 Canadian
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Michael Dowse
Michael Dowse (born April 19, 1973) is a Canadian director.
Life and career
Born in London, Ontario, to Irish parents, he was trained as a film editor. His first full-length movie, '' FUBAR'' was shot on a digital camera with a tiny budget, but ...
, written by
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel (; born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He is known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the '' How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise, and for his roles in comedy movies ...
and
Evan Goldberg
Evan D. Goldberg (born September 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American filmmaker and comedian. He has collaborated with his childhood friend Seth Rogen on the films '' Superbad'', ''Pineapple Express'', ''This Is the End'', '' The Interview'', and '' ...
, and starring
Seann William Scott
Seann William Scott (born October 3, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Steve Stifler in the '' American Pie'' franchise, and also for his role as Doug Glatt in both '' Goon'' and '' Goon: Last of the Enforcers''. He has al ...
,
Liev Schreiber
Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywo ...
,
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel (; born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He is known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the '' How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise, and for his roles in comedy movies ...
,
Alison Pill,
Marc-André Grondin
Marc-André Grondin (born March 11, 1984) is a Canadian actor, known for his role as Xavier Laflamme in the 2011 ice hockey film ''Goon''. He also played Zachary Beaulieu in Jean-Marc Vallée's film '' C.R.A.Z.Y.'' (2005), for which he won a Jutr ...
,
Kim Coates
Kim F. Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian–American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and in the lead ...
and
Eugene Levy. The film concerns the exceedingly nice but somewhat dimwitted Doug Glatt (Scott), who unexpectedly finds personal and professional fulfillment after becoming the
enforcer
Enforcer or enforcers may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Comics
* Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character
* Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team
* New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team
Film and television
* ''The Enforcer ...
for a minor league
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
team.
Despite receiving largely positive reviews, the film was a
box office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
, only earning $7 million against its $12 million budget. After premiering on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
it became an unexpected success, leading to an increase in
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
sales and
VOD downloads, ultimately resulting in a sequel being
greenlit
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
.
The sequel, ''
Goon: Last of the Enforcers'', was released on March 17, 2017, with Baruchel serving as director.
Plot
Doug Glatt (
Seann William Scott
Seann William Scott (born October 3, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Steve Stifler in the '' American Pie'' franchise, and also for his role as Doug Glatt in both '' Goon'' and '' Goon: Last of the Enforcers''. He has al ...
), is a polite, kind-hearted, but
dim-witted bouncer
A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...
at a bar in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. Doug feels ostracized from society, especially since his father and brother are both successful
physicians. Doug attends a
minor league hockey game with his best friend Pat (
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel (; born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He is known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the '' How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise, and for his roles in comedy movies ...
). Pat taunts the visiting team during a
fight and one of their players climbs into the stands, calling him a faggot. Doug, whose brother is
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
, steps in and easily beats up the opposing player. Soon after, Doug gets a phone call from the coach of his hometown team, who offers him a job as an
enforcer
Enforcer or enforcers may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Comics
* Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character
* Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team
* New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team
Film and television
* ''The Enforcer ...
.
Meanwhile, veteran enforcer and Doug's idol Ross "The Boss" Rhea (
Liev Schreiber
Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywo ...
) is demoted to the minors after serving a 20-game suspension for slashing an opponent in the head from behind. Three years prior, Rhea hit and
concussed
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
the highly skilled prospect Xavier Laflamme (
Marc-André Grondin
Marc-André Grondin (born March 11, 1984) is a Canadian actor, known for his role as Xavier Laflamme in the 2011 ice hockey film ''Goon''. He also played Zachary Beaulieu in Jean-Marc Vallée's film '' C.R.A.Z.Y.'' (2005), for which he won a Jutr ...
), who has had trouble recovering from the incident due to his fear of being hit again. As a result, Laflamme is still stuck in the minors, playing for the
Halifax Highlanders. As Doug's reputation grows, eventually earning the nickname "Doug the Thug," the Highlanders' coach Ronnie hires Doug to protect Laflamme and be his roommate.
The Highlanders experience success with Doug as their enforcer, and he quickly becomes popular among fans and teammates, much to the chagrin of his parents and Laflamme, who loses ice time and the
alternate-captaincy to Doug. Meanwhile, Doug becomes romantically involved with Eva (
Alison Pill), a hockey fan with a penchant for sleeping with players.
With four games left on their schedule, the Highlanders need two wins to secure a playoff spot. On a road game in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, after an opposing player concusses Laflamme with a heavy hit, Doug savagely beats the player unconscious and is suspended for the next game against Rhea and the
St. John's Shamrocks. Doug encounters Rhea at a
diner, where Rhea dismisses Doug's belief that he is a hockey player, insisting that they are both "goons". Though Rhea acknowledges Doug's physical prowess and gives Doug his respect, Rhea warns him that if they ever meet on the ice, he will "lay him the fuck out." The Highlanders, with Doug suspended and Laflamme hospitalized, lose to the Shamrocks. The aging captain of the Highlanders, an inexperienced fighter, challenges Ross to a fight, Ross offering a chance to back out but the player denies it, and Ross easily defeats him.
Doug reaches out to Laflamme and promises him he will always protect him on the ice; the incident touches Laflamme, who reconsiders his animosity towards Doug. In their next game, the Highlanders lead 1–0 thanks to strong teamwork between Doug and Laflamme. In the final seconds, Doug blocks a slapshot with his face and his ankle is injured in the ensuing scramble. The Highlanders win, but need a win against Rhea and the Shamrocks in their last game for a playoff spot.
Eva breaks up with her boyfriend to be with Doug, asserting that Doug is who she's really in love with. Doug later allows her now-ex-boyfriend to beat him up, believing that he deserves it for coming between them.
After two periods, the Shamrocks are beating the Highlanders 2–0. Rhea and Doug mutually agree to fight in the third period. Although Rhea manages to knock him down when Doug re-breaks his recently injured ankle, Doug refuses to back down and eventually emerges victorious, knocking Rhea's tooth out. Ross smiles at seeing his tooth, satisfied that he lost to someone he considered a worthy opponent. Eva and his teammates help a seriously injured Doug off the ice and Laflamme, inspired by Rhea's defeat, scores a
natural hat trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...
, giving the Highlanders a 3–2 lead. As the game enters its final minute, Eva comforts Doug in the locker room as he comments, "I think I nailed him."
Cast
Production notes
The film is an adaptation of the book ''Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey'' by Adam Frattasio and
Doug Smith. Footage from Smith's career as an enforcer is shown during the film's credits, and Smith said in an interview with Grantland.com that he is happy with the finished film. The book was discovered by Jesse Shapira and his producing partner David Gross. Along with Baruchel and Goldberg, they developed the script and then proceeded to package and independently finance the movie. It was the first film under their
No Trace Camping banner.
Some scenes are based on actual incidents, such as Glatt scoring a goal off his butt. "Dangerous" Doug Mann of the
Columbus Cottonmouths
The Columbus Cottonmouths were a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Georgia. The team is nicknamed the Snakes and played their home games at the Columbus Civic Center. In 2017, the team suspended operations after failing to find a ne ...
scored a goal in overtime of Game 5 of the
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
Eastern Conference Finals against the
Huntsville Channel Cats, when the puck deflected off his butt scoring the game's winning goal, sending Columbus to the Finals.
Former
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
enforcer
Georges Laraque
Georges Edy Laraque (; born December 7, 1976) is a Canadian sports commentator, politician, and former ice hockey player. Laraque retired from hockey in 2010 after the Montreal Canadiens bought out his contract. He is a commentator for TVA Sport ...
has a small role as an enforcer for the Albany Patriots. His character fights both Glatt and Rhea over the course of the film. He draws with Glatt and the outcome of his fight with Rhea is not shown. When Laraque's character fights Glatt, the dialogue closely resembles the dialogue used by Georges Laraque in a fight against
Raitis Ivanāns
Raitis Ivanāns (born January 3, 1979) is a Latvian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was known primarily as an enforcer.
Playing career
In 1997, Ivanāns came over to North America and ...
in December 2006.
''Goon'' was filmed in
Brandon
Brandon may refer to:
Names and people
*Brandon (given name), a male given name
*Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins
Places
Australia
*Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales
*Brandon, Q ...
,
Portage la Prairie
Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was .
Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hi ...
and
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
,
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
. Most of the hockey scenes were filmed at the
Portage Credit Union Centre in Portage la Prairie, which
substituted for the
Halifax Metro Centre
Scotiabank Centre (formerly known as Halifax Metro Centre) is the largest multi-purpose facility in Atlantic Canada, located in the heart of downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The main entrances to the building are located on Brunswick Str ...
, the home arena for the Halifax Highlanders. Other hockey scenes were filmed at the
St. James Civic Centre
The St. James Civic Centre is a multipurpose recreation complex located in the St. James district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The complex features an indoor ice hockey arena, swimming pool, and auditorium. Built in 1967, the St. James Civic C ...
in Winnipeg and
Keystone Centre
The Keystone Centre is a multi-purpose facility located in Brandon, Manitoba. Its main 5,102-seat arena which is known as Westoba Place is the home of the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League and the annual Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. ...
in Brandon. The
MTS Centre
Canada Life Centre (formerly MTS Centre and Bell MTS Place) is an indoor arena in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. The arena is the home of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
T ...
was used for the home arena of the Quebec Victoires.
The Hot Ice public access TV show was filmed inside Tec Voc High School's Broadcasting Media Arts department. It also featured Ricky, Bubbles and Julian from Trailer Park Boys, as control room staff.
Release
A
red-band trailer for the film was released on
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
.
In Toronto and Montreal, prior to its premiere, posters for the film were removed from city bus shelters after several complaints from the public due to Baruchel making a "sexually suggestive gesture with his tongue and fingers."
The timing of the film's release was considered controversial by some as the previous summer featured the deaths of three NHL enforcers –
Derek Boogaard
Derek Leendert Boogaard ( ; later ; June 23, 1982 – May 13, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played for the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL).
A native of Saskatchewan, w ...
,
Rick Rypien and
Wade Belak
Wade William Belak (''né'' Aadland; July 3, 1976 – August 31, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and defenceman. He was drafted 12th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the Colorado Av ...
– all three of whom suffered from depression and head trauma that are believed to be factors in their deaths.
Reception
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "''Goon'' is a crude slapstick comedy with well-formed characters and a surprising amount of heart." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Roger Ebert of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, and wrote: "The charm of Goon is that Doug Glatt (Scott) is a genial guy from a nice family. Just because he hands out concussions doesn't mean he dislikes anybody. He's just happy to be wearing a uniform."
Robert Koehler of
''Variety'' magazine praised the performances: "The picture has a first-rate team of actors who visibly enjoy their roles and the sharp dialogue by Baruchel and Goldberg."
Stephen Holden, writing for ''The New York Times'', gave a positive review that credits all the major performances.
Accolades
''Goon'' was nominated for four awards at the
1st Canadian Screen Awards
The 1st Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 3, 2013, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2012.[Michael Dowse
Michael Dowse (born April 19, 1973) is a Canadian director.
Life and career
Born in London, Ontario, to Irish parents, he was trained as a film editor. His first full-length movie, '' FUBAR'' was shot on a digital camera with a tiny budget, but ...]
for Achievement In Direction,
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel (; born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He is known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the '' How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise, and for his roles in comedy movies ...
and
Evan Goldberg
Evan D. Goldberg (born September 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American filmmaker and comedian. He has collaborated with his childhood friend Seth Rogen on the films '' Superbad'', ''Pineapple Express'', ''This Is the End'', '' The Interview'', and '' ...
for Best Adapted Screenplay, and
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel (; born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He is known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the '' How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise, and for his roles in comedy movies ...
and
Kim Coates
Kim F. Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian–American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and in the lead ...
, both for Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.
Sequel
Baruchel wrote a sequel with
Jesse Chabot. Michael Dowse was slated to return to direct but it was Baruchel who directed the film, making it his directorial debut.
Evan Goldberg
Evan D. Goldberg (born September 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American filmmaker and comedian. He has collaborated with his childhood friend Seth Rogen on the films '' Superbad'', ''Pineapple Express'', ''This Is the End'', '' The Interview'', and '' ...
produced the sequel. The title of the film is ''
Goon: Last of the Enforcers''.
Baruchel expressed interest in the possibility of a third film, "I don’'t want to get into trouble, and I'm not saying there's going to be a ''Goon 3''," Baruchel says, "but there's more than one way to skin a cat. We're not done in this universe yet."
References
External links
*
*
{{Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg
2011 films
Canadian sports comedy films
Canadian ice hockey films
English-language Canadian films
Films directed by Michael Dowse
Films produced by Don Carmody
Films set in Massachusetts
Films set in Newfoundland and Labrador
Films set in Nova Scotia
Films set in Quebec City
Films shot in Manitoba
2010s sports comedy films
2011 comedy films
Films with screenplays by Evan Goldberg
2010s English-language films
2010s Canadian films