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Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Marc-Andre Grondin, Kim Coates ... see more see more... , Eugene Levy , Liev Schreiber , Nicholas Campbell

Not content with his job as a bouncer at a local Beantown bar and a bit of an embarrassment to his accomplished family, Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) dreams of the kind of success enjoyed by minor ... read more read more...league hockey goon Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber). When a chance encounter with an on-ice thug leads to a bloody fist fight that Doug easily wins, the coach of the Halifax Highlanders sees potential in this mammoth sized man who is only hampered by his lack of any hockey playing ability and his brother's old figure skates. Standing up to the taunts of the other players, Doug manages to join the team, and with the encouragement of his hockey obsessed best friend (Jay Baruchel) quickly becomes a rising star. Soon he'll have the opportunity to face off against Ross "The Boss" Rhea and perhaps finally land a girlfriend. Now - all he needs is to learn how to skate. -- (C) Magnolia

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71% liked it

17,637 ratings

Critics

82% liked it

103 critics

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Michael Dowse

Release Date: March 30, 2012

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DVD Release Date: May 29, 2012

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Flixster Reviews (2,222)

  • DrZeek
    February 1, 2013
    DrZeek
    Goon is a film that I have revisited a couple times now and badly want it to become a sports comedy classic. It is very funny, pretty violent and vulgar, but well-acted, and oddly sweet. The story surrounds Seann William Scott as Doug Glott, a bouncer-turned-hockey player, afte... read morer he beats up a hockey player at a game and is recruited to be an enforcer for the Halifax Highlanders. During Glott's time on the team, he successfully beats up many people for the good of the team, while helping the team regain their confidence. At the same time, he falls in love with a girl (Alison Pill), who tends to sleep around quite a bit. Meanwhile, Live Shreiber is also in the film as a veteran enforcer, who plans to retire after this year, but won't go down without a good final fight.

    What I really love about Goon is that it is such a nice movie. Given that it is about Doug beating the crap out of people, that may sound strange, but the film is not at all mean-spirited. Doug literally apologizes to the people he hurts, because he means it. He is just doing what he is told, but admires hockey and the players a great deal. Seann William Scott does some of his best work here, further showing that he is much better than just playing Stifler in other films. Everyone is quite good here, with Schreiber really delivering in spades, as he nails this part of the veteran fighter, who even gets a chance to embody De Niro in Heat, during a diner confrontation with Scott's character.

    Written by Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg, the film is based on a true story, but manages to deliver huge in the way of laughs and fun all around. The story is a fun alternative to standard sports tales, the actors are all invested enough, without going over the top in a way that is unfitting of the tone of the film, and the general spirit of this very R-rated features is very welcoming to all who enjoy films like Slap Shot or Bull Durham.
  • fb100000145236770
    January 16, 2013
    fb100000145236770
    Here is a comedy that really, really got overlooked in 2012(hell I didn't see it til 2013, and it came out in March). This is probably one of the best hockey movies ever. Long story short, Sean William Scott stars as Doug Glatt. He's a bar bouncer who is dumber than the averag... read moree person, but can fight. One night at a hockey game he beats up a player and from there he is instantly sought after to be the Goon(guy who fights during games) for the Halifax Highlanders(it's a minor league team). It all leads up to a final showdown fight with the legend good Ross Rhea played by Liev Schreiber. This is Scott's best performance outside of Stifler. He is funny, charming, and comes across as a guy you'd wanna hang out with it, but never fight. Schreiber is awesome here too, mullet and all. Jay Baruchel(the skinny guy from "She's out of My league") wrote it and co-stars, and the guy is comedic gold. There are a lot of good one liners, and the violence is way over the top, and hilarious(slow shots of a tooth hitting the ice). If you want a good R rated adult, raunchy, sports comedy, then you should definitely watch this.
  • fb791220692
    January 14, 2013
    fb791220692
    "Goon" is a very conventional but enjoyable little sports comedy, a light non-commitment that's biggest downside is it's annoyingly immature sense of humor.
  • itsjustme2004
    January 6, 2013
    itsjustme2004
    Fun movie! I did almost stop watching after 15 minutes, but I am very glad that I stuck with it. I can only tolerate a small amount of locker room profane banter, and towel snapping humor. BUT..I began to notice the sweetness of the title character, Doug Glatt. He is kind of a sw... read moreeet, and funny misfit played very well by Seann William Scott. If a person can close their ears to the abundance (but not over the top) of the "F" word, then I think they could appreciate this bittersweet, funny, enjoyable movie.
  • aSpaceCowboy
    November 17, 2012
    aSpaceCowboy
    Much like how anti-war films exploit the pains and horrors of war, Goon is an anti-sports film that exploits, well, brawls in hockey. But the biggest downfall of Goon is how it makes a big deal out of very small things.
  • danperry17
    October 29, 2012
    danperry17
    This isn't a four-star movie in the way that a classic is, but one that I rate highly because of how significantly it surpassed my expectations. It's raunchy and hilarious, wistful and sweet, and above all that, it's got hockey!

    The promo copy bills it as Superbad meets Slap Sho... read moret, and that's not so far off. Stifler - I can't use his real name, I just can't! - plays Doug, a bouncer who joins a minor pro team to fight, and Jay Baruchel plays his small-town Massachussetts hoodrat friend, a character more comparable to one from a Kevin Smith film. The funniest bits might be the ones with Baruchel, whose mouth is shockingly foul - even when hosting his public access hockey show.

    I liked that the bouncer character was written as a meathead with a heart of gold, but he seemed too stupid to be believable - that said, it's true of hockey culture that the knuckleheads are often the players most liked on the team, and the ones all-too-willing to do whatever the team asks of them and smile about it.

    In fact, unlike a lot of hockey films (The Mighty Ducks 2, for instance, where Trinidad & Tobago ices a team and Iceland is a power in the sport), this one is full of rewards for the hockey fan, for which you can thank the Canadians who adapted fighter Doug Smith's memoir, (Baruchel and Superbad's Evan Goldberg). We've even got a highly touted but uninterested French-Canadian prospect for comic relief! (Google "Alexandre Daigle" if you don't know why this is funny.)

    Throw in an almost-too-saccharine love story (with Woody Allen's latest regular, Alison Pill) and an inevitable confrontation between Stifler and the league's reigning heavyweight champ (Liev Schreiber), and what you get is a charming little story with a ton of big laughs. Like I said, it's not actually a four-star movie, but it's a fantastic surprise that you (or at least, I) could watch again and again. Promising work from some young talent, and one that will sell well in Canada for decades to come. In the words of Don Cherry, (or was it Bob and Doug Mackenzie), "What a beauty!"
  • edfilmreviews
    July 26, 2012
    edfilmreviews
    "Goon" is one of the funniest movies I've seen in awhile. It has excessive language and violence yet is surprisingly touching. Seann William Scott gives a great performance as Doug Glatt, a man who is drafted to play semi-pro hockey solely because he can fight like no other. And ... read morefight he does.

    Many may think that this film is just fighting and cursing and nothing else. Well, you're not far from the truth. But what makes it stand out are the characters. Doug is a likable guy and his connection with others, especially Xavier Laflamme, is funny and genuine. Many comedy films nowadays intend to shove in as much crude humor as they can without developing characters. Not the case here.

    Overall "Goon" is entertaining and if you are a hockey player, like me, or a fan then it is a must watch. If you don't care for hockey you may still enjoy it, but if you absolutely can't stand brutal fighting then this film probably isn't for you. I liked it, even if the ending leaves much to be desired.
  • LWOODS04
    July 7, 2012
    LWOODS04
    "Goon was a great movie. This is my favorite character that S.W.S has portrayed. The movie is funny, heroic, simple, brutal, and very entertaining. Some of the more brutal scenes were hard to watch. Especially the one near the end of the film, I found myself covering my face. Wh... read moreat makes this such a great movie is that you feel like you're in the stands. By the end of the film I was screaming right along with the fans and screaming at the screen. A bit embarrassing when you're watching it alone and you find yourself talking to the screen. But I can't be the only one who does this... Anyways, it was a great movie. "
  • blkbomb
    June 29, 2012
    blkbomb
    Ross Rhea: You have my respect. Whatever that means to you, you got it. But, know this shit hard. If ever there comes a time when it gets down to the morrow, and it's you and me. Kid, I will lay you the fuck out. 

    "Meet Doug, The Nicest Guy You'll Ever Fight"

    Goon is an absolut... read moreely pitch perfect sports comedy. It is the Major League of the Hockey comedy. Jay Baruchel shows that he isn't just a guy that plays losers, but that he can write some funny shit. Seann William Scott gives the funniest and best performance of his career. The jokes are funny and the fights are brutal. In between all the profane language, drug use, alcohol intake, and sheer violence of Goon, is one of the biggest hearts I've seen in a comedy of this style ever. Doug Glatt is the nicest guy you could wish to meet, even when he is beating the shit out of you on the ice. The way his character plays out, with his teammates and his girl is so... touching. And you wouldn't expect that from a movie that is this fucking violent.

    This movie reminds me of something my lifting coach in high school used to say. "Hockey isn't really a game. It's a fight, where a game will occasionally break out." That's exactly what hockey is for Glatt. He can barely skate, but is taken on by a minor league team to protect its star. He does what his team needs. He fights, he bleeds. He's a goon, and he's fucking proud. 

    This is an odd movie, in that, it feels like the standard, raunchy, foul mouthed comedies we are used to, but it also doesn't. It's much, much more than just a funny movie with great jokes. It's also a movie that has a ton of heart, and that's because we're given a character that we really like; a character we can invest in and cheer for. It's the best character I've seen in a comedy in an extremely longtime, maybe ever. Scott plays the dimwitted, pretty soft-spoken, tough man perfectly. It truly is a sight to behold.

    Absolutely a must see. This blows away Slap Shot in my opinion and that may sound like blasphemy to some out there. Goon will surprise you that's for sure. I had heard that it was really, really good, but I never expected this. Going into it, I still expected a decent at best comedy. Luckily for me, I got one of the best comedies in the last 10 years. No shit. This is up there with The Hangover and Superbad.
  • stuartb1234
    June 23, 2012
    stuartb1234
    Hilariously funny and easily the best film Sean William Scott has been in.

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Critic Reviews

Bilge Ebiri
January 8, 2013
Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine

As the brutality ramps up, and the story gains real consequence, for some reason, we actually laugh harder. Goon is a comedy, often a very funny one, but you might be hesitant to call it that once you... Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
April 20, 2012
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

[Scott] is reason enough to see the film, which otherwise is a by-the-book sports comedy. Full Review

Tom Russo
April 12, 2012
Tom Russo, Boston Globe

The movie's unlikely sincerity can't completely offset its ugliness for less bloodthirsty viewers, but it helps, and it does smooth over some narrative rough edges. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
April 5, 2012
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The movie is harsh, nasty and vulgar like you wouldn't believe. And often, it's hilarious. Full Review

William Goss
March 30, 2012
William Goss, Film.com

It's an underdog story that doesn't take itself too seriously, tender as a bruise and about as blue. Full Review

Alonso Duralde
March 30, 2012
Alonso Duralde, The Wrap

George Roy Hill's classic Slap Shot may still hold the title as the quintessential hockey comedy, but Goon certainly deserves to be mentioned in its company, juggling charm and grit and raunch and blo... Full Review

Stephen Whitty
March 30, 2012
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

All it wants is slapstick violence and "Slap Shot" profanity. And it delivers both - albeit not much else. Full Review

Tom Long
March 30, 2012
Tom Long, Detroit News

What's somewhat surprising is you don't have to give a hoot about hockey to enjoy the movie. This is just a guy living his dream: Hitting people. Full Review

Kyle Smith
March 30, 2012
Kyle Smith, New York Post

"Goon" easily takes the title of second-best hockey comedy I've ever seen. Full Review

Robert Abele
March 29, 2012
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

Scott isn't bad: He sells the comedy of his character's ingrained politeness as much as the aggression. But "Goon" feels like a movie starring a gimmick, not a person. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Ronnie Hortense: Good skills. Too bad those are your own guys you just fucked up.
    • Doug Glatt: Oh sorry.
    • Ronnie Hortense: On the bright side. Those were your own guys you just fucked up.
    • Ronnie Hortense: THIS IS NOT FUCKIN BASEBALL!
    • Eva: I'm sorry I don't 'like' like you.
    • Doug Glatt: This is awkward. [reveals present]
    • Doug Glatt: [in commercial] Old cars make me angry. [punches car]
    • Doug Glatt: YESSSSS!
    • Doug Glatt: Why are you crying? Did you just watch Rudy?
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Goon Trivia

  • In "A man apart" what does Sean Vetter use to kill the drug peddling goon that talks badly about his deceased wife?  Answer »
  • In the movie Youngblood, what was the name of the goon who Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe) fights in the movie?   Answer »
  • Superbad 2007 Two goon cops eager to recapture their youth explain   Answer »
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