Random movie March 31st 2017

Spudguns! I got to the cinema and saw The Goon 2-Last of the Enforcers.  A not so little Canadian film.

movie: Goon 2 the Last of the Enforcers
starring: Jay Baruchel, Seann William Scott
genre: Comedy, Drama, Sports,
year: 2017
format: Cinema

plot: After what looks like a career ending injury, hockey player Doug the Thug, finds himself questioning his current state of unhappiness. After watching his hero in a local fighting competition, he decides to come out of  retirement by learning to be a left handed player instead of a right. Meanwhile, his pregnant wife is feeling more and more ignored unaware Doug's going through this mid-career crisis.

Okay, let me add that the star power in this with Kim Coates (Skinwalkers, Innocent Blood, Red Blooded American Girl, The Club) and  Callum Keith Rennie (Hardcore Logo, Blade 3 Trinity, Due South, Twitch City) alone is worth seeing.

The first film in this series, was very gruesome in the fact it was jam packed front to back with fights. This was not. And I appreciated that fact. There was a big fight scene at the end of the film, that actually had me cringe in my seat. Not because of it's gore factor, but because of some of the points of view on the shots. As someone who's had too many broken bones, I tend to find a scene with broken noses and such; hit too close to home...no pun intended.

This film focuses on the "what do I do now?" aspect of this guy's career. Not just the career of the lead character, but how it sort of ripples out to those around him. As we see him get injured and how his team deals with his replacement, and how it in turn creates opportunities for one of his heroes.

Because this is still in cinemas - I don't know if it only got a Canadian release or not- I'm not going to go too deep into things, because I want to keep away  from any real spoilers.   But I have to say, the arsejacking scenes, had me laughing for awhile. And there are a few penis jokes that are done, but so seemlessly, they don't really knock you out of the moment. The raunch levels are acceptable. Some of the gags could have easily over stepped, but they manage to feel natural.

You do get the feeling that this is wrapping up the lead character's story.  There is possibility for a third installment, with the story focusing on either the character of  LaFlamme or the best friend Patrick. The first movie had introduced the character of LaFlamme having a complicated past, and the best friend Patrick having a career as a hockey journalist.  I can totally see a third film dealing with either of those elements.