Goon: Last of the Enforcers
- Hannah McGill
- 4 September 2017
This belated sequel is another tremendously enjoyable, unashamedly violent sporting comedy
Its peculiar mix of foul-mouthed humour, bone-crunching violence and cornball sentimentality won the first Goon film a devoted following back in 2011, and gave millennial comedy fixture Seann William Scott a winning showcase for his brand of goofy charm. Surprising, then, that a sequel has taken so many years to materialise; but here it is, with Scott reprising his role as Doug Glatt, the most lovable, murderously destructive dimwit in the world of ice hockey, and co-star Jay Baruchel taking on directing duties as well as his onscreen sidekick role.
Once again, there is tremendous fun in store for those with high thresholds for blood and swearing. Scott is charming company, as are original supporting cast members Baruchel (who co-wrote both this and the original), Alison Pill and Liev Schreiber. A new addition is Wyatt Russell – the divertingly handsome offspring of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, recently seen in Everybody Wants Some!! – as Doug's newfound nemesis Anders Cain, who beats him to a career-threatening pulp before adding insult by taking his place on the ice, captaining his beloved Halifax Highlanders.
The plot is sports movie formula with a sheen of parody: after his injuries at Anders' hands, Doug yearns to claw back his fitness and rejoin the fray, while his pregnant wife is kind of hoping he'll knuckle down to doing something a little less physically dangerous. But in a clear divergence from superficially similar efforts from the Judd Apatow stable, the film doesn't over-rely on aimless improvisation for laughs – and even allows its female characters to be funny.
Quite why the violence has to be so full-on isn't made clear, although arguably there's a serious point in there somewhere about the level of human suffering we're prepared to collectively accept as long as it's undertaken in the name of sporting glory.
Selected release from Fri 8 Sep.
