'Snavely Classic: Slapshot'

'Slapshot' (77) (R) (4 stars) (Highest Rating)

Writer: Nancy Dowd
Director: George Roy Hill
Starring: Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Strother Martin, Lindsay Crouse, Melinda Dillon, Brad Sullivan, Jennifer Warren

"Slaphot" is in my top five of the best sports movies ever made and also in my top 25funniest movies I have seen. Every sport has their signature movie that is the top of the heap. Golf has "Caddyshack", football has Robert Aldrich's "The Longest Yard", basketball has "White Men Can't Jump" and baseball has a lot of great movies to choose from. Hockey has "Slapshot" and I do apologize to all those "Youngblood" fans who love Swayze and Lowe in that hockey classic. "Slapshot is gloriously vulgar, hilarious and very shocking when I first sat down at 12 years old and watched it. My parents had taken me to "Animal House" before but this movie was so vulgar and nasty and so great I watched it over and over. The fact that a woman wrote something this vulgar is wonderful and nowadays I admire that immensely! Nancy Dowd was an ex wife of a Hockey player so I can see where she got her material. This is a wonderfully funny and very smart screenplay. Everyone knows the plot and everyone knows that the man who stars in it is the legendary Paul Newman. He plays player/coach Reggie Dunlap of the Charlestown Chiefs and it is one of his best characters. The supporting cast is wonderful and actually Lindsay Crouse to me gives an Oscar caliber performance as the wife of Ned Braden. Strother Martin is also a delight as the owner of the team but everyone knows The Hanson Brothers steal this movie. The introduction to them playing their first game is priceless and full of genius slapstick moments. There is also the capturing of what athletes really say on the ice, the crazy fights that happen and the movie just feels right. There is a classic scene where the Hansons have a fight before the game and they listen to the National Anthem. What they say to the referee as he yells at them is pure classic. The dialogue is so nasty that it just becomes funny for being so over the top. There are also classic lines that I have been quoting with friends for decades. They include one of my favorites as Player Dave Carlson gets into a huge fight and has to get his lip sewed up. That leads to the classic line readings of "But Dave was there, Dave's a killer" and finally someone has to say "Dave's a mess". I thought back to this dialogue as I saw the Blackhawk's Duncan Keith get his teeth shattered during a playoff game. The movie's ending is very unpredictable and it doesn't seem right at first but makes sense after all. I could never stop watching this movie over and over because it is hilarious every time I watch it. It is a classic comedy and sports movie that is one of the best written screenplays in both genres.

P.S. "Slapshot" is dedicated to the Blackhawks and their deep and wonderful team where everyone contributes to a win. The camaraderie and teamwork that is shown by the Charlestown Chiefs is the same unselfish play the Blackhawks use. That is why they are winners and the true example of team work over individual play.