Rent Slap Shot (1977)

Good Old Paul Newman - Slap Shot review by CP Customer

A film starring Paul Newman and directed by George Roy Hill. Surely a winner? Don't be fooled. I rented this because i'd read someone call this a 'forgotten gem', which is half correct. There are some funny scenes but it's not aged well and i expect it was a lot funnier at the time. The film never really gets going and the plot, like so many sports films, is pretty flimsy. Newman isn't bad in it, but he's not great either. I'll remember him for his other films.

Hockey, Homophobia and Hideous Sexism - Slap Shot review by griggs

I arrived knowing almost nothing about ice hockey and left just as unsure. What plays out though feels more like a candid field-study than a feel-good sports caper. Director George Roy Hill strips away polish: punch-ups crash into changing room grumbles, and the battered team’s fortunes mirror a mill town heading towards collapse. The thuggish humour lands side by side with streaks of kitchen-sink despair, giving the film its odd texture—one minute pratfalls, the next blue-collar rage.

Amid the racket, the seventies soundtrack cuts through the din with real bite, and Paul Newman anchors the madness with a wonderfully perplexed turn. Even so I never quite warmed to the film. A constant barrage of homophobic and sexist slurs—unapologetic and unredeemed—kept dragging me out of the fun. Age isn't and alibi. In the end, the raw energy intrigues, but the crudity overshadows the charm.