Powerful

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Fierce and unapologetic, helmed by a tough mother like George Roy Hill and scripted by a woman (yeah!), this is a hockey movie for those who love hockey and also those who have no idea what hockey is much about aside from the fights- and believe me there are lots and lots and lots of fights here. When it ended my wife (who has become a hockey fanatic over the past few years) commented on how it's a movie where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: it's not a terribly quotable film, but you leave having gone through a full experience.Slap shot is grimy and sometimes very sleazy, and with the exception of Harry S Truman from Twin speaks, the Chiefs follow coach/player Paul Newmans lead: we got to get people seeing this team again and win some (bleep) games, so he goes for a sort of nihilistic approach: screw it! Get in fights! Rile up the refs! Get the audience involved! Then maybe the team won't be folded and shut down by the owner but rather sold to some Floridian.There even is an arc for Newmans character somewhere in the midst of what is a precursor to Animal House, a raucously anarchic studio comedy, only they're out of college and working class dudes who don't mind getting some teeth knocked out or getting a lip sewn up post (or dying) game-play. It's extremely slight though and if anything the players overall desire to get the hell out of their current state (i.e. they try to play 'old fashioned' hockey without uh violence and then when they hear from blustery p'd-off old Strother Martin there are NHL scouts in the stands, that's all that registers from the managers motivational speech so BACK TO THE CREAMING THOSE BASTARDS!) makes it that much funnier.There are stretches here where the laughs aren't plenty - it's much a 70s movie that way - but much of this is so hysterically spot on because it is all about behavior. Sure, the players on their bus (plus some local girls following on another bus) mooning some angry rival team onlookers is one thing, and that can be funny. But Hill is smart as a director to let so much of it be about the personalities of these players - those three brother goons who play with their electric train set and seem more like one entity with three heads and pairs of glasses are a prime example - and also how Newman does a lot with just a look or a reaction, how he interacts with his friends girlfriend as she drives at top speeds in her van, how he is both 'don't give a f***' but giving a f*** at the same time for what counts.Did I mention how wonderful Newman is here? Kind of? I must say again that he is the heart and soul of this movie, a true star who continues (maybe at this point caps off) a career of anti establishment I-do-things-my-way forces of nature like the Hustler and Cool Hand Luke. He can be brash and crude as this guy, but damn is he charming and clever and a character only a complete stiff upper lipped being couldn't get behind.Slap Shot is a great comedy for the reason that we as the audience see all the truth that is there, in this case the dirty, foul mother and scabrous lives of (semi) professional hockey players, and that they are not in on the joke of themselves. And if my wife was somewhat correct that on a first viewing its not the most quotable thing ever, there's a constant energy to nearly every scene where the comedy is big and bold and brutal and unapologetic. I love that kind of comedy, and in a blue collar 70s milieu that is deep down, at the end of it all, political too (working class vs the rich, a town closing a plant so jobs gone, how will they go to hockey games, etc).

Every now and again, a movie comes along late on a Friday night being aired on some obscure cable channel that pulls you in and keeps you there, despite the premise being something that interests you less than collecting rocks - and Slap Shot is one of them.Paul Newman plays Reggie Dunlop, an ageing Ice Hockey coach who is torn between a genuine love for his soon to be leaving wife, and an undying love for the game that has allowed him to remain a child all of his years. On the back of a series of heavy defeats, he decides to tear up the rule book and bring what is described as 'aggressive hockey' back to his side of dysfunctional misfits, the Charlestown Chiefs, in order to draw attention to the side in the vain hope that the team won't be foreclosed along with what appears to be the entire town.That's the premise, but what lies beneath is something incredibly fantastic; a genuinely funny, raucous and carefree movie that has clearly benefited from not only the time in which it was made, but also from the seeming freedom the director had when making it.If you don't like Ice Hockey or any sport for that matter, it doesn't make a blind bit of difference. This movie works in the same way that Airplane! and Blazing Saddles does - with an effortless fluidity and style that will have most viewers going back for repeat views again and again in search of another comedic nugget of gold.The character combinations here are superb, and the casting agent did a wonderful job getting Paul Newman on board, who seems to revel in this sort of role - this movie makes you feel good because it's clear from the start that it was a whole bunch of fun to make.Full to the brim with one-liners, appropriate and hilarious cursing, memorable catch-phrases and all the dysfunction you could ever hope for in a slick 123 minute runtime. Some of the scenes are genuinely laugh out loud funny; my favourite, the Charleston Chiefs organ player who gets clouted in the head and knocked off his chair by a stray puck shot from distance, only to appear in his next scene resplendent with a protective helmet - I had to spit my drink out.As mentioned in other reviews there is a small amount of social commentary here, but not enough to spoil the jokes, of which there are plenty. Hilarious, compelling and wonderfully carefree in a way that studio executives dare not entertain in this day and age, Slap Shot will surprise and revive you on one of those rainy Wednesday evenings after a bad day at work. So spend a couple of hours with the Chiefs - you'll be glad you did.8.1 / 10

It's the mid-70's and Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) is the ancient player-coach of the Charlestown Chiefs, a minor league hockey team in the Northeast. Reggie, the Chiefs, as well as Charlestown are pretty much on life support, barely hanging on. He has a motley group of players, not exactly hot NHL prospects. But Reggie and his team all share one thing…they absolutely love playing hockey and everything that goes with it, the male camaraderie in the locker room and road trips, drinking, poker and their groupies. Unfortunately, with the steel mill getting ready to close in Charlestown, the team will be folding at the end of the year unless an out of town buyer can be convinced to purchase the team-so Reggie Dunlop figures the best way to attract attention is to raise the level of violence on the ice to a new pinnacle.What unfolds is absolutely hilarious, but it's not just the action on the ice. Although to do a sports movie well the participating actors have to look somewhat authentic and hockey is not an easy sport to play. You can't fake it and everyone, including Newman are believable in their hockey skills. SS has some memorable dialogue and moments, whether they are about hockey, sex, marital relations, machismo… hanging out with the Chiefs for 2 hours is a blast.Newman is the only really big star and he's terrific. But some other memorable faces in this including Strother Martin as the teams seedy GM, Michael Ontkean as a talented ex-Ivy leaguer who enjoys the life but has a wife (Lindsay Crouse) who hates being a hockey widow. Jennifer Warren plays Reggie's estranged wife-they are still in love with each other but she's realized it's time for her to move on. Melinda Dillon, who would become famous for "A Christmas Story" has a memorable nude scene with Newman, as the ex-spouse of an opposing goalie who also has discovered she's bi-sexual. Swoosie Kurtz also plays one of the wives who delivers a few memorable one-liners. As far as the Chiefs, great performances by virtually everyone, my favorite being Brad Sullivan as the perpetually horny Moe Wanchuk.And then there are the Hanson Brothers…simply put the most destructive line in hockey history!

I recommend people read "Hilarious, oddly influential dark sports comedy" (ggh6; 27 July 2001). Also, "Funny, cynical and irreverent" (JohnRouseMerriottChard, 27 September 2008); "Enjoyable romp" (Big Neil-2, 20 July 2002) and "...a hockey game broke out (Gary M. James; 8 May 2001)."Slap Shot" is a very complex movie. It works very well as a sports comedy that that can seen in a party setting. For many people, that is all it needs to be.I really like how it looks. The extensive use of natural lighting, the grainy quality of the film is appealing. I also admire George Roy Hill's visual style. There are a number of interesting compositions.The opening credits begin in a cutaway section of what was previously the blue square of an American flag. The finish concludes with a parade for the Charleston Chiefs. The Chiefs win using disreputable tactics. It is hard to deny that Slap Shot is making a statement about the falsity of American life; i.e., Americana.Then there is the homophobic quality (which Gary James mentions in his 8 May 2001 review). If one reads between the lines, Slap Shot can be viewed as an out-of-the-closet statement for Paul Newman. (If not Newman, then his character, Reg Dunlap.) Contrary to what many have written, Newman's Reg Dunlap does not originate the idea that if the Chiefs become a goon-squad it will bring in a financially depressed crowd. Reg Dunlap is a classic weather vane. What he thinks this minute is determined by who is around him. He cannot decide which woman he wants. He also repeatedly contradicts himself about what style of hockey he wants his team to play. (He even tells the police he thinks the Hanson brothers should be locked up, then works for their release.) Given the transient nature of Reg Dunlap's opinions, and the clearly identifiable scenes where Dunlap encounters the subject of homosexuality, it seems easy enough to interpret these scenes as Newman (or Dunlap) acknowledging that he has a gay impulse, regardless of what Dunlap says about homosexuality in scenes where he is more in control.Slap Shot depicts not not just the corruption of hockey, but also with American society. We are made to believe both are acceptable. Like the team's fanatical boosters, we are rooting for the Chiefs to win by using disreputable tactics.There is a powerful sense of indoctrination in Slap Shot. It does make the audience welcome thuggishness and the breakdown of civil society. (If the CIA made it that would explain why.) I laughed from start to finish, and the introduction of the Hanson brothers to ice is a riot. Slap Shot is amusing. There are many layers of interest beyond the mirth.