Goon

Directed by Michael Dowse

(R)

***

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You don’t need to be a hockey fan to enjoy this crass, raucous comedy, said Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. Seann William Scott stars as a bouncer who joins a semipro hockey team—despite not being able to skate. His job is to be an enforcer, and “the charm of Goon” is that this hired brawler is as genial off the ice as he is violent on it. The sports drama is also “enriched by a lot of material not specifically about hockey”—including Scott’s attempt to woo a hockey groupie, played by an appealingly quirky Alison Pill. “The movie’s real secret weapon,” though, is its star, said John Semley in the A.V. Club. Best known for playing smug in the American Pie films, Scott displays unexpected heart here, transforming himself into “a lovable oaf.” Some viewers might detest the way that this picture all but glorifies sports violence, said Stephanie Zacharek in Movieline.com. But there are places in our culture for policy debates, and Goon’s “wicked, gap-toothed smile” will convince a lot of viewers that a comedy isn’t one of them.