Slap Shot (1977) User Reviews (189)

One of my favorite sports movies

[Mr-Fusion · 8/10 · 8 January 2016]

To be completely honest, "Slap Shot" would've charmed me simply for being a hockey movie. We could do with more of those, without Emilio Estevez. But it earns its place among the better (best?) sports movies not for having underdog skill, a committed dream or thirst for winning, but for dabbling in the gutters of blue humor and distilling the sport down to its most low-brow of beer-guzzling violent fun. The closest thing I can think of to compare this to is "Major League", which is a compliment unto itself.

Even if you don't like the sport, the movie is absolutely worth your time for an unusually profane (and always likable) Paul Newman and for the psychotic Hanson brothers.

Thoroughly entertaining.

8/10

Funny, cynical and irreverent.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 27 September 2008]

Paul Newman is the coach of third rate failing minor league hockey team, The Charlestown Chiefs. The town is hit hard by unemployment and this appears to be the Chiefs' last season, however, if the coach can whip up the team up into a winning frenzy, then the unknown owner might just find a buyer and save all their carers? The management bring in three odd looking brothers who, once unleashed, take the whole team on a blood thirsty winning streak right to the championship final. The crowds flock in thirsting for more blood, but then the problems start to arise.

Slap Shot is a tremendously funny film, it's also incredibly violent and often vulgar in dialogue, but be sure to know that both things go hand in hand here (or should it be glove in glove?) to create one of the smartest sports pictures in the modern age. The hockey sequences are excellent (especially to a non fan like me), and the script bristles with course and biting humour. Slap Shot on its initial release was frowned upon by many critics, it was considered too profane and overly harsh with the win at all costs theme driving it forward. However, it's now rightly embraced as the smart and intelligent piece that director George Roy Hill wanted it to be seen as. A new generation of movie fans have started to seek it out and its reputation and fan base grows ever more larger by the year.

Newman was a bona fide star, his hair silver grey but his good looks still firmly intact, his performance has a grace about it that oddly sits nicely amongst this cynical stab at professional hockey; even if his characters' clothes are, in truth, icky. It would be a big disservice if I didn't mention the impact of the Hanson Brothers, surely one of the finest combinations to have ever graced a sports movie? They are at once unassumingly likable, the next gleefully violent, they are the glue that binds the whole picture together. Film is filled out with sparkling support work from the likes of Strother Martin, Michael Ontkean, Jennifer Warren, Lindsay Crouse and Jerry Houser.

Not long after originally writing this review, the legend that was Paul Newman sadly passed away, he left behind a movie legacy that few can touch, and trust me, this is one of them. A sports movie that never gets old and continues to pay off on repeat viewings. 8.5/10

Funniest hockey movie

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 1 December 2013]

The Charlestown Chiefs is a hopeless losing hockey team in fifth place. The team has to do ridiculous events to make extra cash. Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) is a player/coach with a rag tag team with the latest being the goonish Hanson brothers. Their best player Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean) has a jealous wife (Lindsay Crouse) who hates the small town. With the town's mill closing, the team has to close at the end of the season. Reggie Dunlop decides to pump up the team and attendance by planting a story of the team moving to Florida and starts playing goon hockey.

This is an inappropriate movie and it's all the more funnier because of it. It is possibly the funniest hockey movie of all times. Director George Roy Hill rejoins Paul Newman after the success of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting. It is more fun and more hilarious than either one. However you have to prepare for the language, the homophobia, and the goon hockey. It's certainly not a pretty movie.

Hilarious, oddly influential dark sports comedy

[ggh6 · 27 July 2001]

Mostly hated by critics on its release, as much for its cynical viewpoint as its relentless profanity, "Slap Shot" has since become something of a cult classic.

Set in the low-rent world of minor-league hockey, the movie follows the efforts of player-coach Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) to turn around the Charlestown Chiefs' final, losing season in a dying Pennsylvania steel town. Reggie is not above using a dirty trick or two to manipulate his teammates or psych out opposing players, and cheerfully gets physical when he has to. Even Reggie recoils in disgust, however, when his tightwad manager (Strother Martin) brings in the Hanson Brothers, three thick-lensed, thicker-headed goons who are more interested in fighting than playing Reggie's brand of "old-time hockey".

When it becomes apparent that the hometown crowd loves the Hanson's rough and bloody style, Reggie decides to go with the flow, and to fire up his other players concocts the story that, if they can win the championship, the owner will be able to sell the franchise to a group of rich retirees in Florida. To do that, though, they will have to get past an opposing squad specially stocked with the league's most notorious goons...

A sometimes uneasy blend of slapstick and kitchen-sink realism , "Slap Shot" has some pertinent things to say about the American worship of success at all costs, and (long before the rise of the WWF) our fascination with violent sports. Echos of its gritty style can be seen not only in many later sporting films, such as "Bull Durham" and "Major League", but even in the wave of British movies in which characters fight to hold onto their lives after the collapse of hometown industry, such as "The Full Monty" and "Brassed Off".

The film really shines as a straight comedy, though, delivering some classic characters and set pieces: virtually every appearance of the Hansons; a clueless, toupee-wearing sportscaster (Andrew Duncan); the team's tiny Quebecker goalie (Yvon Barrette), and Newman himself, in one of his personal favorite roles. The females fare less well, although Jennifer Warren stands out as Dunlop's long-suffering, estranged wife.

Note: in the VHS version, the background music has been replaced by an inferior, generic soundtrack. The DVD version, with the original music, is preferable.

Gonzo Hockey

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 18 December 2005]

One of the knocks that has always been given to Paul Newman was that he was not right for comedy. When you're talking about stuff like A New Kind of Love or Rally Round the Flag Boys that's probably true. But Slapshot shows that what Paul Newman needed to be good for comedy was something not quite so sophisticated.

Slapshot ain't Oscar Wilde, but it's not quite to the level of the Police Academy movies. It's just right for Paul Newman as the veteran player/coach with a team of misfits from one of hockey's minor leagues who's forever looking for a break from the majors.

The Charlestown Chiefs who seem to be the hockey equivalent of the New York Mets are having a perennial losing season. The town itself is one flush away from despondency with a mill that was the main employer in the town shutting down. That means the paltry attendance the Chiefs already have will diminish more. It's an uncertain future.

So with nothing to lose, Newman's boys turn the sport into a hockey facsimile of the World Wrestling Federation. In no other sport are fights among the players so accepted. But Newman ratchets it up to an exponential level.

And his team actually starts to win and the Charlestown Chiefs become a gate attraction.

There's a lot more to the resolution of the team's problems, but that championship game is unforgettable.

All Hail the Brothers Hanson.

Toe Blake, Dit Clapper, Eddie Shore & None O' That Stinkin' Root Beer

[animal_8_5 · 10/10 · 12 April 2005]

Every hockey fan I've ever met, no matter how pedestrian, identifies with this profane, but prophetic 1977 cult classic. SLAP SHOT perfectly nailed the circus we know of as the now-defunct Johnstown Jets: a former farm team of the World Hockey Association's Minnesota Fighting Saints. Real life is truly stranger than fiction, but SLAP SHOT seems to combine the best of all worlds.

As legend goes, screenwriter Nancy Dowd got the brainstorm of doing a documentary on minor-league hockey, spending a few months in Johnstown, PA with her brother Ned Dowd. Ned, who was working his way up with the Jets from the U.S. college ranks, toward the WHA Minnesota Fighting Saints, was Nancy's inspiration for Michael Ontkean's Ned Braedon character.

Nancy, whose 1979 screenplay for "Coming Home" would cop her an Oscar, was like a fly on the wall when all of these bizarre events began to play out before her eyes. She managed to capture "the spirit of the thing" and compose what is surely one of the most spectacular sports film plays in the history of cinema.

As the storyline in SLAP SHOT was true to life, names had to be juxtaposed to protect the innocent. The Johnstown Jets became the Charlestown Chiefs. Real-life Minnesota hockey-playing siblings, the Carlsons became the Hansons. Real-life player "Killer" Hanson, inspired the "Killer" Carlson character. Brophy, the tipsy captain of the Hyannisport Presidents was so-named for juxtaposing with the Reggie Dunlop character, allegedly patterned after a career minor-league player named John Brophy, who went on to coach the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs.

Everyone who lived in the seventies reported sightings of one incarnation or another of toupee-wearing sportscaster Jim Carr. And when it comes to sports-writing, Reggie Dunlop said it best: "If Dickie Dunn wrote this, it MUST be true!" Some of the classic character names in this film must be honored also: Barclay Donaldson, Tim "Dr. Hook" McCracken, Andre "Poodle" Lucier, "Ogie" Oglethorpe, Ross "Mad Dog" Madison, Clarence "Screaming Buffalo" Swamptown and Gilmore Tuttle.

With all the other strokes of brilliance and genius SLAP SHOT has become famous for, we cannot forget the contribution of the star Paul Newman, who is believable and sympathetic as washed-up Chiefs player-coach Reggie Dunlop.

Minnesota native, the late George Roy Hill, who also directed "The Sting" and "Slaughterhouse Five," could arguably claim SLAP SHOT as the master stroke in his illustrious career.

Miraculously, several stars of SLAP SHOT would go on to make other hockey movies: Yvon Ponton starred in the French-Canadian TV series "He Shoots He Scores" and the "Les Boys" film series; Paul D'Amato starred in "The Deadliest Season"; Jerry Hauser appeared in "Miracle On Ice."

Love those Hanson brothers

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 29 September 2019]

I love how they got Paul Newman for this part, and how great he looks out on the ice. The film parodies the violence in hockey, and it had some potentially interesting bits in the class aspects of a blue collar town facing a plant closing, as well as a mostly faceless owner who disdains the sport and simply looks forward to a tax write-off, but unfortunately these don't come to much. Worse is the cringe-inducing homophobia. The best part of the film are the hilarious Hanson brothers, and the film could have used a lot more of them.

Like a @#$% time machine back to the 70s

[defdewd · 10/10 · 11 March 2006]

I grew up in south 'jersey when the Flyers were still the Broad Street Bullies and all lived on our side of the Walt Whitman Bridge. They had handlebar mustaches. Many spoke with thick French-Canadian accents and wore wide ties, jackets with lapels you could park a truck on, and more than the occasional leisure suit. Many were just kids when they were pulled from the farmlands of the North and found themselves in the middle of suburbia by day, and at night, playing "Old-time hockey" while the chanting and organ music echoed to the rafters. Now whether you played pro hockey like they did, or were on the semi-pro Johnstown Jets that inspired the crew here, there seems to be a prototype player who played a certain style of game for the rest of us to watch. Sadly, that era is long gone. Marketers and big business have left the game in smoldering ruins. But we still have Slapshot. It perfectly captures what the game used to be and the guys who used to play it. Paul Newman is incredible as Reggie Dunlop, the aging player-coach who seems to be the last guy to figure out his team is on the verge of folding. The fictional town has hit the skids so that means no more hockey team. But instead of going out with a whimper, Dunlop has a scheme to get his crappy team back in the standings and the fans in the stands. And as the plot develops there's locker-room talk that would make even today's teenagers shut up and take notes. Nancy Dowd's story, which she wrote after seeing her brother Ned play in the minors during his career (and parody in the movie as Ogie Oglethorpe) translates into a total classic. The raw banter between Newman and his GM, between the players -- literally all through the movie -- makes for the most quotable flick I know...but I have to be so careful where I can recite my favorites. One such place was out on the fishing boat of a hall-of-famer from the old Flyers. (It's rumored one of the characters in the movie was modeled directly from HIM.) Slapshot brought even this guy to his knees with hysterics. Just rehashing a few quotes from the movie triggered his REAL stories of his own team that won the Cup two years in a row, and then never again since. That's how well the movie tells the story of hockey. There's a lot of social commentary here, too, if you are into such a thing. Lots on relationships, male bonding, machismo and the like. Some of the subplots take the story off the ice for too long, and the movie tends to drag in spots, admittedly. But when play is on, the brutal scenes reach such a sublime level of violence all you can do is gape and laugh in astonishment. The players here have all become like Reggie himself: They don't seem to notice that they've gone too far and they are creating a goonathon just to fill arenas. Meanwhile, those with real talent get benched right along with the national anthem. It's pretty clear -- both on the screen and during the times when the movie was being made -- that Old Time Hockey was on its way out. But it didn't go with a whimper, either, and at least Slapshot was there to give it a send-off to remember.

The Goon Show

[slokes · 7/10 · 13 December 2004]

Man, I needed one complete viewing just to get a load of Paul Newman's wardrobe! Checkered pants. Fur-lined jacket. Buff leather jacket and matching pants. Great artists sacrifice for their art, and Baby Blue Eyes certainly does so here. Dropping a few F-Bombs must have been nothing to him after dressing up like that.

It's for a good cause. "Slap Shot" is an enjoyable, one-of-a-kind sports film. Like many other sports films from the 1970s, such as "North Dallas Forty" and "Rollerball," there's a strong focus on how athletes are used and abandoned in a capitalist society, but the message here is leavened, and largely bypassed, by the over-the-top humor, courtesy of Newman, Strother Martin as a shyster owner, and a team full of colorful misfits led by three brothers named Hanson whose thick Dilbert glasses and love for toy race cars doesn't distract them from committing felonies on the ice against their fellow men.

"Slap Shot" is about as much a guy's movie as can be, so naturally the screenwriter was a woman, Nancy Dowd. She wallows in all the profane banter, casual misogyny, and random acts of brutal violence in a way that might play a bit on the page like "Clockwork Orange" but is saved by the film's amiable humor and sense of fun.

The darkest thing about "Slap Shot" is the premise. The Charlestown Chiefs, a minor league hockey team, are about to fold, and player-coach Reggie Dunlop schemes to turn his motley crew into winners by getting their blood up, along with their fans, by transforming them into thuggish winners to attract the attentions of an outside buyer that might keep the team running in friendlier climes.

As played by Newman, Dunlop is very likable in his rascally ways, even while taunting a goalie about his lesbian wife for a cheap score. Newman throws up some vivid detail in this scene and others that must have caused a few people to blanch when "Slap Shot" hit theaters in 1977, but his banter is perhaps a bit less scandalous today and the movie as a whole seems to be improving with time. It's about the only thing out there, other than maybe "Youngblood" and "Miracle," for hockey-loving moviegoers, and it remains the most popular, perhaps even best take on one very odd sport.

The film is disjointed, though, with a strange subplot about one player named Braden who resists Dunlop's "gooning it up" and Braden's long-suffering dipso wife. The story here seems to strive for pathos a bit, and to give us something other than jokes, but as the pair are played by the unlikeable Michael Ontkean and Lindsay Crouse, it's hard to care much about them or how they turn out. They only slow down every scene they're in.

The film scores better in the dramatic department with Dunlop's attempts at winning back his estranged wife. Dunlop's sincere in this, but easily distracted both in his machinations to save the team and by all the easy quail he finds on the road. One of the best things about the film is that it doesn't tie this plot thread up so neatly.

"Slap Shot" works best as a comedy. Like when Dunlop blackmails the owner's identity from Strother Martin, or how one mild-mannered player transforms himself into a guy named "Killer" who shows up at the big game wearing a Dracula cape. There's a driver who takes a sledge hammer to the team bus to "make it look mean," assorted opponents who look like they escaped from "Oz," and especially the Hansons, who are used very well because they are used sparingly.

Director George Roy Hill was never wedded to any one style, and this is as far as you can get from other films he made that same decade, like "A Little Romance" and "The Sting." He does very little to dress up "Slap Shot," even the credit sequences are perfunctory, but he knew how to make a good movie, and did so here. If you don't mind sports films that are a little raunchy and mean of heart, you will be entertained by this one.

Old-time hockey at its finest!!

[adamshame · 10/10 · 25 January 2000]

I remember the first time I saw SLAP SHOT; I laughed so hard that I thought I was going to puke. The best thing about this movie is that all the banter between the players, the attitudes, and the jokes are ALL TRUE! I worked in the locker rooms for a minor-league hockey team and I saw every character in this movie: the aging veterans, the eccentric goalie, the lazy pretty-boy, the young players looking for a chance, etc. It is so true to life and accurate, moreso than any other sports related movie out there. And having all the actors do their own skating is a big plus also. I really can't find a fault with this flick.

And for my most favorite part of the movie? No question it is Moe Wanchuck! I have yet to find a character in any movie that everytime he open's his mouth, I go into hysterics. Along with Chunk from THE GOONIES and The Dude from THE BIG LEBOWSKI, Moe is up there towards the top of my list of favorite characters in any movie I have ever seen.

You know you have a classic film when the topic of SLAP SHOT comes up with your friends, or even people you have just met, and you spend hours reciting all your favorite quotes, trying to out-do each other. Do yourself a favor and see this movie so you can be part of the fun!

Minor League hockey at its worst. Rough, mean & hilarious.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 18 August 2001]

This movie caused some change of attitude toward Paul Newman by his fans. Newman using prolific vulgarities and scheming dastardly deeds on the ice is pretty far out from his norm. He is great. His mean spirited and sneaky deeds turn out quite humorous. A failing ice hockey team led by playing manager Newman is on the auction block. Three geek-like brothers come to the team and are well practiced hoodlums on the ice; they also help turn the team into a gang of thugs hated by the rest of the league.

Included in the supporting cast are Michael Ontkean, Jerry Houser and Strother Martin. The classy Jennifer Warren is Newman's estranged wife. David Hanson, Jeff Carlson and Steve Carlson play the three brother wrecking crew.

Strong language and moderate well placed violence prevail; but the dark comedy itself sells the movie. Paul Newman like you have never seen him before, but hey that's alright! He pulls this one off as smooth as ice.

The Movie That Started It All

[alexkolokotronis · 10/10 · 20 February 2008]

When you look back at all the outrageous sports comedies this is probably one of the first. It has set a new standard for comedy across many movies. With Paul Newman in here he kind of gives this movie a soul. Maybe not a great one, still something is in here. Lately there have been many sports comedies such as Dodgeball, Balls of Fury and many of Will Ferrell's movies. Yet none of them, except maybe Dodgeball have reached the originality and such witty lines from Slap Shot. I think this movie really has something more to it than just the comedy. It actually displays the faults in hockey and professional sports in general. It really shows that to many owners that the idea of having a team is like a cool new toy. All kids eventually get bored with toys and give them away or just throw them in the trash. This is exactly what we see in Slap Shot with the owner, she just plays with all their lives and can just make them a simple tax write-off. It also shows the desperation of the players. Paul Newman talks about going out with style about as soon as hears scout are at the game he quickly goes back to the team's brutal and dirty tactics (This made out to be a hilarious scene). The difference between this and other sports comedies is that it actually has a lot of realistic situations ( THough sometimes exaggerated). I would definitely recommend this.

It's So Stupid, It's Actually a Hoot

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 23 December 2016]

Like "Bull Durham," the sport takes second fiddle to a bunch of intrigue. It's about aging players, greedy owners, manipulation, on and on. Paul Newman decides he has to take action to make sure his team manages to draw. In the small city where they play, there is a mill. The people who work at the mill are the fans. The mill is going to close, which will render the place a ghost town. This moves into an anything-for-a-laugh hockey movie with some totally unforgettable characters. When the Carlson brothers show up and goon hockey starts, we are amazed at the way the whole game becomes nearly surreal. Don't take this seriously.

Mangy and hostile...

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 7 September 2007]

George Roy Hill's underachieving "Slap Shot" wasn't a huge hit when released in 1977, but cable and video turned it into a word-of-mouth success and now the film is defended with solemn righteousness--as if it were anything more than a violent cartoon. Scrappy Massachusettes hockey team plays dirty to win, with player-coach Paul Newman getting to show off a rare mean-spirited side of himself which doesn't sit particularly well (the whole movie is full of gratuitous put-downs, but hearing Newman tell a bitchy woman, "Your kid looks like a fag to me" has no kick to it--it's just ugly). Nancy Dowd's screenplay purposefully makes the characters mangy and vile, though Hill still wants us to respond to them with hearty merriment (this isn't quite "The Longest Yard" where abusive Burt Reynolds grew up a bit). By putting the audience in the same position as the dolts in the stands who cheer vicariously, "Slap Shot" is actually rather insulting. *1/2 from ****

Raunchy, Rowdy, Profane, and Sidesplitting!!

[G-Man-25 · 23 June 1999]

This one belongs on the list of the greatest sports comedies ever made. The humor (and the language) is some of the saltiest you'll hear in a movie but it doesn't seem excessive at all. This tale of a minor-league hockey team having one last go at greatness is boisterous and bruisingly funny, even if you don't care for the sport itself. As the aging captain of the team who's constantly amazed at the crazy happenings around him , Newman is at his roguish, charming best. Rent it with "The Longest Yard" for a perfect double-bill. A four-star **** classic.

Great flick!

[koobs · 7/10 · 3 January 1999]

One of the funniest sports movies I have ever seen. The first time the Hansons hit the ice, I almost burst laughing. Great movie!

Pure Comedy from start to finish

[Anyanwu · 10/10 · 13 June 2000]

C'mon, this is pure comedy. No breaks, no lull parts just funny all the way through with the appropriate cheesy 70's soundtrack. This movie not being in AFI's top 100 comedy films is a travesty. If they want a period piece this was it. They sighted Fast Times, it just stands to reason that Slap Shot should fall into the listing. The Hanson's deserve special consideration. The casting is perfect

Underdog story about a team that plays to reach the top in a immoral way

[KineticSeoul · 6/10 · 14 May 2012]

This is a hockey comedy and I can see why this movie is known by some people as one of the best hockey movie that adults and probably teens can enjoy. It just has certain elements that make it a cult classic. But I don't know, maybe this movie just wasn't for me because I didn't find it all that enjoyable, it was entertaining. But just didn't meet the hype that I was expecting from this cause just about every movie critic seems to have enjoyed this. The plot is about a constantly losing hockey team run by Reggie 'Reg' Dunlop(Paul Newman) and the team is hated by everyone because of there constant losing streak. But soon the team builds a reputation for being hockey goons and some dislike them but they also gain a lot of fans and most audiences want to see them play. So basically they turn hockey into WWE smackdown on ice and the audiences just seem to enjoy watching violence more than a game of legit hockey. And Dunlop is all for this because his team is starting to get popular. And there is bunch of comedic moments thrown in between or in the game. Paul Newman was good in this as a carefree coach that just wants his team to survive and get popular over how good the team is in hockey which makes him some enemies. His carefree but ambitious attitude just worked well in this flick. Despite it not feeling all that engaging for me as an audience or feel really connected to the team or anything like that or most of the characters. It does have legit aspects to it, since there is no special effects and everything that happen on screen is basically real. Now like I said I can see why this movie has elements that make it a cult classic but I can also see why this movie would appeal to small audiences. It just isn't a movie for everyone, but for those that like the 70's feel and nostalgic elements during the 70's and put together in a well crafted manner...You just might really enjoy this flick. I just thought the build up was pretty weak and didn't feel emotional or anything like that or even wanted to root for the main team and it's not because they are hockey goons.

6.5/10

If you like hockey then this movie is for you!!!

[justin-fencsak · 10/10 · 6 August 2020]

Long before the movie Goon and Miracle, this slapstick comedy about a group of Hockey players wanting to win a championship to help their little town became a surprise hit at the box office in the year of Star Wars Close Encounters and Saturday Night Fever. Slap Shot stars Paul Newman as the coach of a hockey team that also has the Hansen brothers. It spawned two sequels that were direct to video and has a memorable soundtrack. Unfortunately it's rated R but feels mroe like PG-13.

Dated but funny

[mm-39 · 7/10 · 29 December 2001]

This film helped ruin hockey, most people don't understand that fighting in hockey is usually done to protect the better player from getting hurt form a cheap body check, but enough of the hockey lecture. I seen this movie too many times, but it still makes one laugh. Some of the humor is dated, goes back to the 70's, but its still enjoyable too watch. I love Doctor Hook Mc Craken in this film, he plays a 70's hockey goon perfectly.

Its raunchy, its funny....and maybe the best sports comedy ever!

[barrwell · 9/10 · 28 October 2010]

If you like offbeat sports comedies like 'The Longest Yard' or 'Bull Durham', or if you like the irreverent realism of a movie like 'Mash' and haven't seen Slapshot...you are in for a real treat. Although the aforementioned titles still pop up on TV periodically, and I even caught the similarly gritty, rowdy cult classic 'North Dallas Forty' on a premium movie station recently, unfortunately Slapshot seems to have disappeared from cable TV. Like many of the other forgotten classics from the 70s (the greatest American movie decade ever), Slapshot, which contains so many great lines and satirical scenes, should go on the need-to-rent list.

Paul Newman plays Reggie Dunlop, the aging player/coach of a third-rate minor league hockey team the Charlestown Chiefs. Reggie has been chewed up and spit out by life and as the film starts, his team of misfits is losing on a regular basis. Attendance is down and the news comes out that the local mill is closing and this is going to kill ticket sales. Reggie sees his playing career (as well as his marriage) is about over and figures the only hope is that the team can get sold and relocated. This is going to require a winning streak and it just so happens the chiefs general manager Joe McGrath (the incomparable character actor Strother Martin) has just finagled a deal for three near-adolescent, coke-bottle glasses wearing brothers name Hanson.

In one locker room scene one of the veteran players ask the Hansons what they are doing as they wrap their hands, one of the Hansons answers "putting on the foil". At this point Reggie is appalled and swears these guys will never leave the bench. Its funny to watch all the players reaction to the Hansons and when Reggie finally gets desperate enough to put the Hansons in a game -thats when the fun really begins. To say the Hansons are dirty players is an understatement, and that initial scene where they hit the ice is hilarious.

So Reggie suddenly changes his tune and decides the chiefs will become the dirtiest, rowdiest team in the league. Before long they are on a winning streak and rumors start floating around about the team being sold to some buyers in Florida. One of the great, cynical scenes in the film is when Reggie finally meets the teams female owner (Kathryn Walker) and finds out the truth. It's not a politically correct scene by any stretch, but its a hoot and sets the stage for the third act.

Newman's performance hits the mark(as usual)as Reggie, and Micheal Ontkean also scores as the brooding Ned Braden. Braden had formerly been the chiefs golden boy before the change, he doesn't like the chiefs new "image" and his playing time has been cut. Ned also is having problems with his wife (Lindsay Crouse) and this sub-plot with Ned forms the basis for the rousing, crowd-pleasing finale.

In the climactic game between the Chiefs and Syracuse, the top team in the league, we find out that Syracuse has brought in some thugs of their own and the result is literally a riot! This is when both Reggie and Ned see their fates converging and both see the foolishness of their lives and their decisions; -Reggie, for his abandonment of "old time hockey; Eddie shore" and Ned, for abandoning.. his life, and his wife. Reggie probably can't save his own marriage, but he may yet save Ned's.

The final scenes on the ice bring together both the insanity and the redemption in a heartwarming and still uproarious montage. It's a very satisfying conclusion and one more reason I score this so highly.

For as funny, cynical and satirical as Slapshot is in its best moments...for example, when Reggie keeps buzzing past the opponents goalie disruptively shouting "your wife's a lesbian!...she's a lesbian!"...it also finds a way move us...high praise indeed for a sports comedy!

Funny Paul...

[Thanos_Alfie · 6/10 · 29 April 2020]

"Slap Shot" is a Comedy - Sport movie in which we watch a coach-player of ice hockey who once was a star but now he is playing for an average team and finds a different way of winning each match. It is not the best way of winning but still counts as victory.

I liked this movie because it had a nice and simple plot with many funny moments. The interpretation of Paul Newman who played as Reggie was not the best but it was good enough for this movie. Another interpretation that has to be mentioned was Michael Ontkean's who played as Ned Braden and he was very good as well. Regarding the direction which was made by George Roy Hill I have to say that it was very good and he presented very well the story of each character separately without being boring while he presented much of action from the matches. If you want to laugh then just watch this movie.

A gem of a movie

[gga · 9/10 · 6 April 2000]

A Canadian friend of mine recommended me this movie as one of his favorite comedies. Since he loves hockey, I did not give it much thought. But, eventually, I rented it.

It stunned me. This is a movie that is just too smart for its own good. A fabulous script that any studio nowadays would reject. This is a film that an be read on so many levels. A jewel of American film that has been disregarded by critics and audiences. By the reviews here, it seems even hose who love it might not have seen how deep this movie goes.

This is a movie that is in the comedy genre, but just as with Chaplin's films, it switches back and forth to drama, too. And just as with The Great Dictator, there's a huge irony and social criticism behind it.

On the surface, it is a comedy about a small losing hockey team and how they turn their luck by the use of violence. With this new tactic, they end up attracting fans, critics and disorienting rivals as the team rises to the top. The characterizations are vivid. Paul Newman's character is given a true motivation behind his antics: to win back his wife, who is about to divorce him. This is all standard Hollywood stuff, but still is some of the best. The scenes are terribly realistic, the dialog is never direct but subtle, and the comedy, except for the fights in the ice, is never played for laughs. There's excellent slapstick humor, but there's also some great lines that fans of the movie will probably repeat forever. The main characters are so real that it feels you can touch them. Paul Newman's role is a complex one and this is one of his best performances I've seen from him, with many facets. Both manipulative, romantic, womanizer, workaholic, leader and father figure. And the other characters share also that complexity: the other players, his wife and the wives of others, the team manager/agent, etc.

But... this is just the surface. Sure, violence in the NHL may not be such a hot topic now that new rules have been put in place and sanctions have become more severe.

But it is the secondary themes that really earn this movie my respect. It is in these areas that it has aged so well. In some aspects, it is even more important today than when it was made. The isolation of the wives of the players, enduring cheating and struggling with drinking and divorce. A real reflection of the dark side of our society then and now -- an analogy of the struggle between work and family, between professional and personal success. There's a good punch aimed at the sports media, another topic that could not be hotter in a time where basketball, football and even golf players are quickly turned into movie stars.

Watch this movie once. Watch it twice. Watch it several times. It will keep getting better each time.

A blood and guts action/comedy/drama that takes us into ice-hockey sport where brawls and punches are frequent

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 25 December 2021]

The Charlestown Chiefs , a minor league hockey team , need to drum up attendance for their upcoming game with another team . Reggie "Reg" Dunlop (Paul Newman who has never been better) is the team's aging player/coach, and the team is dead last in the second-rate Federal League. He meets his players and the opposing ones at center ice to start the Hyannisport game , and some of them resent that the coach put them in the game . In the broadcast booth , Chiefs player Dave Carlson (Jerry Houser), who supposedly was injured in a previous game, reveals that he isn't playing because he actually has a cold. The lone quality player for the Chiefs is Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean) , he is the highest-scorer in the Federal League . Then , the experienced trainer enlists the help of the club's newest players, the dauntless Hanson Brothers (Jeff Carlson , Steve Carlson , David Hanson) , who specialise in foul play, they are three bad maulers with sticks . And the agressive match begins... Slap Shot out slaps... out swears... out laughs...you'll see Paul Newman doing things you'd never expect him to do... saying things you'd never expect him to say!.If this movie doesn't make you laugh, you better look up a psychiatric!!

Dramedy (comedy and drama) that takes us into a world of low-grade , free-for-all ice hockey , where slaps , punches , brawls and kick-asses are more frequent than goals . Dealing with a failing ice hockey team finds successes with outrageously violent hockey goonery , carrying out a really agressive game . Like , their game , the picture is sometimes a bit too abrasive to take .When released in 1977 , this comedy was criticized for its extreme use of profanity and violence . The controversy tended to obscure the fact that Slap Shot (1977) is a fun and marvelously performed movie . As the film is plenty of profanity , hilarious touches with tongue-in-cheek and certain language may be too strong for children . Paul Newman is terrific as an aging player-coach who's a loser in love and on the ice until he instructs the the members of his team to behave like animals during their matches . The always agreeable Strother Martin stills manages to steal half the movie from him . Being well accompanied by an enjoyable cast with full of familiar faces giving decent interpretations such as : Michael Ontkean who delivers the best scenes when he does a mildly amazing striptease to the delight of the crowd and the chagrin of the fighting players , Jennifer Warren as Newman's wife , Lindsay Crouse , Jerry Houser , Kathryn Walker , Melinda Dillon , M. Emmet Walsh and Swoosie Kurtz.

It contains an atmospheric as well as evocative cinematography by Victor J. Kemper , though a perfect remastering being really necessary . Lively and attractive musical score by uncredited Elmer Bernstein. The motion picture was professionally directed by George Roy Hill . This great filmmaker George Roy Hill had a long career from the fifties until the eighties with hit smashes such as ¨The world according to Garp¨ , ¨Slap shot¨, ¨Butch Cassidy¨, ¨The Sting¨ , ¨Hawaii¨ , ¨The world of Henry Orient¨ and commercial failures such as ¨The little drummer girl¨ , ¨A little romance¨ , ¨Slaughterhouse five¨, ¨Throughly Millie¨ , ¨Toys in the attic¨ , ¨Period of adjustment¨ . And his big hit : ¨The Sting¨ and ¨The great Waldo Pepper¨which was third and final of three films that as an actor , Robert Redford made with director George Roy Hill, he first two were The Sting (1973) and Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid (1969) . Slap Shot (1977) rating : 6.5/10 , good but neither excellent , not notable , but decent . The flick will appeal to Paul Newman fans . Worthwhile watching .

depressing "slice of life" movie - but NOT a comedy

[kyrat · 4/10 · 18 December 2007]

I was improperly prepared for this film. I was told it was a comedy. I found nothing amusing. I then decided it must be a inspirational/message film about team work, ethical playing, violence, trying to make money by any means necessary, a gender and class commentary. Maybe just a commentary on violence, sportsmanship and game playing. Wrong again.

If I had just been told it was JUST a film showing what life was like in a minor hockey league in the 70's I might've appreciated it more instead of looking for humor or meaning. There is no payoff. No growth in the characters (in fact they degenerate into nothing but goons).

It was just a sad movie about some pathetic losers who were losing their dreams, their livelihood and their spouses. Very few of the hockey players were likable people so it was hard to keep watching when you don't care what happens to them. I think Paul Newman's character was supposed to be sympathetic but I thought he was just selfish and rather despicable.

There were so many sideplots that could have been developed and would have interested me more. A town losing it's entire point of existence? Barely mentioned. The alienation and clinical depression of the wives? Shown, but not really addressed - just a given. A few hints at a critique of the violence taking over the sport - but in the end there was just an embrace of the new "style".

It's also hard to watch from a modern sensibility. Having spent decades trying to overcome the sexism and homophobia of previous times-I really have no desire to return to those days (though it might be instructional for younger audiences who have no idea what it used to be like). The epithet F*G and the word lesbian used as an insult were pretty much the entire dialogue. While I respect that it is probably an accurate reflection of the times and the dialogue - I no longer find it funny.

***SPOILER***

The end was just sad. Watching them give up on sportsmanship; lose their jobs (was Newman lying about his new gig like he'd lied about most of the rest?);and delude themselves into thinking they'd stay with their wives. Nothing/nobody had changed (or at least not for the better).

I saw this film as an indictment of hockey - not as a positive fan tribute as it seems most of the other commenters saw.