Holy Mackinaw! SLAPSHOT!

I was just watching clips from one of my ‘Guilty Pleasure’ movies – for the hundredth time (this may not be an exaggeration):

SLAPSHOT !!! (1977)

Slapstick Hockey?
among other things. 

“Certain language may be too strong for children”

There’s a ton of stuff in this movie that is probably
too strong for most anybody. 

People probably think this movie exaggerates things.
Not much.
In the Minors, Hockey can be many things.
And ‘gentile’ is not one of them. 

“Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?”

Initial TV showings of Slapshot were massively censored. In it’s uncensored state Slapshot is vulgar, obscene, profane, ribald, irreverent, and R Rated. It spans the gauntlet from Porn to Slapstick. I’ve walked out the theaters – or changed channels – for far less. It’s pretty well everything I normally hate in movies – and avoid.
Yet, in spite of all this (LoL) this darn thing is hilarious.

Paul Newman himself stated on many occasions
that of all the films he’d been in,
Slap Shot was by far the most fun and his personal favorite.
“I’m not usually happy with my work,” he once said, “but I loved that movie. It rates very high as something in which
I took great personal satisfaction.”
But there was one annoying side effect:
“Ever since Slap Shot, I’ve been swearing more. You get a hangover from a character like [Reggie Dunlop], and you simply don’t get rid of it. I knew I had a problem when I turned to my daughter one day and said, ‘Please pass the f*ckng salt.’”

Maybe you to have to love Hockey and have been brought up in Hockey culture to enjoy this … ???
I think that helps … but I don’t know?

The Hansons

These guys make the movie. 
The amazing so-called Hanson Brothers:

Via Slapshot they became celebrities and for years were in demand to appear at Hockey games and reprise their comic goonery.
I hope they made a few bucks out of it. I do know they raised some money for Charities.
Who knew?

And before you accuse us Canadians of anything, I gotta tell ya that most everybody in this movie is an American.
Yep.

Reviews

In general, the initial Reviews of Slapshot (1977) were not favorable.
Yet as years have gone by, this has changed. For example:
Wikipedia: “Film critic Gene Siskel noted that his greatest regret as a critic was giving a mediocre review to this movie when it was first released.
After viewing it several more times, he grew to like it more and later listed it as one of the greatest American comedy movies of all time.” 

Some interesting Slapshot Trivia: 

The Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts is playing in the opening of the hotel scene.
(You can’t make this stuff up.)

Screenwriter Nancy Dowd originally intended the film to be a documentary, but Director George Roy Hill convinced her that it would be better served as a feature-length comedy.
Uh … WOW.

Al Pacino was wanted Newman’s role and was interviewed for it. However Director George Roy Hill
refused him because he figured Pacino couldn’t skate.

Actor Peter Strauss also auditioned, but broke his leg whilst skating in the audition. 
Yeah, skating is sort of important in a Hockey movie.

John Wayne in Idol of the Crowds (1937)

Author: jcalberta

Howdy! I love Westerns. ... and the intent of MyFavoriteWesterns.com is to celebrate Western Movies/Film - old and new. This site will eventually show my top 30 favorite Westerns - or more. I will have original graphic work with regular updates. All this - and more ... Yee Haw ... !! - jcablerta / Moderator / Administrator

4 thoughts on “Holy Mackinaw! SLAPSHOT!”

  1. Love the movie. Watched a lot of the Carlson brothers play over the years. Newman’s role was based on Glen Somner when he coached the St Paul Fighting Saints. What a cast of characters!

    1. Hi Don,
      There’s a few different categories of Minor League Hockey. Some Pro – some Amateur. When I lived in Drumheller, Alberta (as a kid) we had the Drumheller Miners – who were The 1966 Allan Cup Champions – the Canadian national senior ice hockey championship. Our team was spiked with a few former Pros. The Miners who playing in the Alberta Senior Hockey League (ASHL) in the late 1930s featured the five Bentley brothers, Doug, Max, Reg, Roy and Wyatt. Doug, Max and Reg went on to play in the National Hockey League (NHL), while Doug and Max were both elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame. So there was quite a Hockey tradition in Drumheller. The ’66 that won the Allan cup was selected to represent Canada in a tour of Europe in the winter of 1966-67. The Miners are believed to be the first free-world hockey team to compete in East Germany during the Cold War. Quite a legacy there. I’m unaware of any players coming out of there into the Pros in recent memory though.
      Sorry for lengthy response. I know there’s a ton of avid Hockey in the Minnesota area.
      Us kids got to play in the Drumheller Memorial Arena a few times (burned down now). We felt like we were playing in the Montreal Forum.

    1. It’s crude and brilliant mixed together – if there can be such a combination? I can appreciate that most people’s wouldn’t stomach it.

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