Rating:

Sure, the humor is rude and crude, but necessary to paint a somewhat accurate picture of `70′s minor league hockey (surely these guys weren’t discussing Plato or speaking in blue-blood accents). It may be offensive to uninitiated people (e.g. people who don’t watch hockey or team sports in general), but the humor is oft-hilarious for hockey fans.

Paul Newman plays crafty, alternately obnoxious and charming player-coach Reg Dunlop, leader of the mediocre minor league Charlestown Chiefs (though in reality the movie was filmed in Johnstown, PA). Fearful that the team is going to fold (now that the big mill in town is closing), Reg concocts a scheme in which he’ll find a way to make the team better and profitable in the hopes that the yet-unknown owner will opt to sell the team rather than disband it.

What eventually generates interest and success in the team is their change to a rough-and-tumble style of play, mercilessly beating on opponents (a la the typical style of play for many `70′s teams), largely thanks to the infusion of the three Hanson brothers (who in real life actually were minor-league bruisers), who also provide much of the humor in the film. Michael Ontkean plays Ned Braden, the Ivy Leaguer who is a skilled scorer and naturally is unhappy with the fight-first direction of the team. His dysfunctional relationship with his young alcoholic wife serves as a subplot and also reminds Reg of his own unhappy marriage, largely due to his hockey life.

The film is full of fantastically funny moments: Reg’s disbelief upon seeing the Hanson’s for the first time (“They brought their f**kin’ toys with `em!”), the players being forced to do a fashion show that goes awry when one of the players strips, the great Strother Martin as the cheapskate conniving general manager, the French-Canadian goaltender having hallucinations after being pummeled with shots, the Hansons starting a fight before the national anthem even starts, etc.

This is definitely one of the best sports films ever made (both in terms of comedy, and strangely, realism); don’t expect anything highbrow, though, “THIS IS HOCKEY!” as the Chiefs rug-adorned announcer yells as the Chiefs are mercilessly pummeling their opponents.