A Masterpiece!

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Too many people get to far into sub plot, development, etc., and miss a fun movie with a good story. Mystery Alaska is just that, a fun movie with a good story. It's a plausible story, developed on real people with real personalities.The Boys of Winter take on The New York Rangers in a game that will take place on a pond instead of a rink. It's all about speed and passing, which eliminates the prima-donna antics and technicalities that usually accompany pro-sports in general. The plot isn't too fantastic, and stays grounded in reality.Characters of Note: Skank Martin - Local 30 something that "fornicates and plays hockey because they're the two most fun things in cold weather". He also runs his tongue a little reckless...Tree - Big oaf with bigger heart. He's a bit simple minded, but he checks like a freight train.Judge Burns - Tough guy with some inner demons he's fighting, but there's a heart in there somewhere if he can just find it underneath the ashes....One complaint: What with the constant use of the phrase, "For God sakes?" It was a bit distracting.

It goes without saying that "Mystery, Alaska" is all about hockey, but the spin on that is that it's about more than the sport and that's the difference maker between a good and great sports film. "Mystery" falls somewhere in between those compliments, but transcending hockey is what this movie can hang its skates on. The title says it all. Instead of being called "cliche underdog title," or "intense sports words" it simply refers to the town it takes place in, because that's what's at its heart. Even if the sexual humor is completely awkward and the swearing uncalled for, this movie is about the pride of a small town whose very existence centers around hockey.For one thing, it's worth mentioning that "Mystery, Alaska" is not based on a true story. Thank goodness. Just because a story is true doesn't make it a great sports movie. "Mystery" takes all the best elements of an underdog sports story and blends them with this small- town concept by David E. Kelly ("Doogie Howser," "Allie McBeal" and "The Practice" creator) and Sean O'Byrne.Russell Crowe stars as the veteran anchor of the city hockey team as well as the town sheriff of Mystery, Alaska, where everyone knows everyone and hockey is all that matters. Charlie (Hank Azaria), who grew up in Mystery but flew the nest to be a journalist, writes a piece on the team in Sports Illustrated that captures the interest of the NHL: They want the New York Rangers to fly out to Mystery and play the Alaskans. Meanwhile we learn how word spreads in a town like Mystery. One player aptly named Skank is having an affair with the mayor's wife, the youngest player and his girlfriend try becoming sexually active to awkward results and Charlie's presence creates some conflict between John (Crowe) and his wife (Mary McCormack). There's also a lawsuit pending against the sharpshooter of the team because he shot a corporate bigwig in the foot. It's funny but kind of a sad moment when the jury reads the verdict of not guilty with a sly smile and everyone rejoices because without that player, the Mystery team would have surely lost.The small-town politics might be kind of goofy and the random sexual remarks puzzling, but it gives "Mystery" a soul and keeps it from being dependent on game footage. There's a little bit of game footage early on and then not until the face off with the Rangers. Those scenes become that much more interesting when they don't dominate the film -- a way too common error of most sports movies. Although there is a training montage and a slow clap in this movie, the intention is well and the heart still there."Mystery" has some classic moments for a sports film and that's all you can ask for. It might not be the sports epic that "Miracle" became five years later, but it has that genuinely friendly small-town sensibility making it not only unique, but also less glamorized. It's easy to excuse a film with this much heart of all its quirks and flaws.~Steven CVisit my site http://moviemusereviews.com

This movie is easy to bash because of its "underdog" formula, but this is one of the better spins I've ever seen put on it.Mystery, Alaska is a small, ice-covered town that no one would ever have heard of were it not for former resident Charles Danner's (Hank Azaria) article on the "Saturday game" of hockey that has become a ritual in the town. Danner sings the town's hockey praises, likening their skating ability to that of "any team in the NHL," and the gods of fiction hear the call, arranging for an exhibition game between the New York Rangers and the Mystery players. This sets off storms of conflict and multiple subplots which give this film a depth normally not found in the genre. The hockey game itself is almost an afterthought, because while the players know how to play the game, they don't have the same mastery over their daily lives.John Biebe (Russell Crowe) is the town sheriff and involuntarily-retired player from the Saturday game who is called upon to return to the team as their coach and as a player. His wife, Donna (Mary McCormack), is proud of the life she has built and slightly wistful about what the rest of the world would have held for her, but is content with what she has and does not live with her head in the clouds. Burt Reynolds is excellent as town judge Walter Burns, who must grapple with his teenage children, one of each gender, with the boy lacking the ambition Walter has for him, and the girl being a little too ambitious for his taste with her boyfriend. Colm Meany is the town Mayor who must deal with marital conflicts, and the remaining characters are what you'd expect to find in a closely-knit small town.The game itself is more like something out of "The Air Up There" than any of the movies mentioned in the other reviews. In that movie, the Africans played basketball for much the same reason as the Mystery boys play hockey, and as in that movie, the talent pool from the area is rich enough for the pros to take more than a passing look at the players (two of the Mystery players wind up signing with the Rangers and playing for their minor-league outfit in Binghamton).The players' main worry is that they'll get blown out by the Rangers, and shatter their illusions about their talent, but since the game is held on "their pond," where they believe "nobody beats them," they weren't about to back down. The Rangers, at first reluctant opponents who would rather have had some time with their families, get an early wake-up call in the game that causes them to remember why they played hockey in the first place, and take the game as seriously as a Stanley Cup final from then on. It is then that we see that while the Mystery players may lack the polish of the NHL, they are hardly outclassed.As expected, the Zamboni makes a cameo, as does Mike Myers as a former player/announcer. The movie has the usual small-town hostility towards outsiders, including some ribald swipes at a female TV reporter, but throughout the movie, we see what makes this town tick, and how their commitment to hockey is one that every professional player should never lose. Sports may be a business, but in the end, the play is the thing, and this movie makes that point better than many of the better-known films that try to drive home the same point.

It is weird to think that Russell Crowe was part of this rather low key sports drama since most of his films have been of a higher order. I almost forgot that before he made L.A. Confidential he was relatively unknown in the U.S. and it was only when he was nominated for an Oscar for "The Insider" that his movies became big events.That aside, this is an immensely entertaining little movie and Crowe has a very sympathetic character here. His character has many things in common with characters in other sports movies like Walter Matthau in "Bad News Bears" and most of these movies have a strict formula. They usually revolve around underdogs and here we get a local hockey team who gets a chance to play against a NHL team, the New York Rangers. There are not many ways to tamper with this formula and indeed "Mystery, Alaska" does not stray from it. Instead we get very enjoyable hockey action and the usual rivalry between the better hockey player and the one who thinks he should be the star. In this case the part is filled out nicely by Ron Eldard, who is not a household name, at least not here in Denmark, but he has made a few films that stuck with me, one of them being the revenge drama "Sleepers". Here he has a much larger part and he does well as the arrogant rival to Crowe.The other supporting actors like Burt Reynolds and Hank Azaria are mostly decorative but there is no one who can play smarmy better than Azaria and Reynolds does well as a more dignified character than he has ever played before (check out his senator in "Striptease" to compare). The sole female, Lolita Davidovich, is terribly underwritten but that is typical of this kind of movie.Last there is a cameo by Mike Myers who of course struck gold with the director of this film and this is as it should be. So many directors do the same so why not here. The actual big game is not that extraordinary but there are enough good moments to make this a pleasant viewing experience.