Goon

Michael Dowse's Goon, from 2011, is an affably brainless hockey film. Seann William Scott plays a mentally challenged bouncer who feels undervalued by his cerebral Jewish family. After pummeling an escapee from the penalty box during a minor league game, Scott's character finds his rainbow by knocking heads, extracting teeth from his opponents and causing enough mayhem to become the titular goon.

Dowse's greatest success is in telling his simple story crisply and economically with a restrained use of closeups. He is not trying to reinvent the wheel cinematically, but endeavors to construct a comedy. Scott's family and teammates are etched well within a barely two dimensional framework. Alison Pill is charming as a hockey groupie who falls for Scott's endearingly inept wooing. The relatively gritty script gives a good sense of the alternately monotonous and frenzied nature of a hockey player's life. Liev Schreiber is particularly welcome as a veteran goon on the cusp of retirement. He, like everyone in Goon, seems in on the joke and that playfulness makes the picture a diverting comedy.