Sports and cinema used to be considered a bit like mixing oil and water. Sure, there were some exceptions – Rocky, Raging Bull – but the uptick of quality sports movies in the 21st century has been marked, from Moneyball to Foxcatcher, Sugar to the Damned United.
Some sports feature more heavily than others – you could probably name ten boxing movies without thinking too hard about it. Yet, some are underrepresented. There aren’t too many soccer movies. Some, yes, but not a lot. We’d guess it’s down to a couple of reasons. First, soccer action is difficult to choreograph. Second, it’s not as popular in the United States as elsewhere.
Ice hockey, too, is underrepresented in sports movies, and it is difficult to name some really great ones. Don’t let the nostalgia of a 1990s childhood trick you, as The Mighty Ducks – and its sequels – may have been a commercial success, but it’s fairly awful.
The NHL Playoffs are on right now, and fans of individual teams will be more worried about their team’s performances and Stanley Cup odds than movies, but what are the highly-rated ice hockey movies that they can stick on when their teams get eliminated? Let’s have a look:
Miracle (2004)
This is often cited as a good entry point for hockey movies, as it deals with an evocative and popular subject matter – the “Miracle on Ice” of the 1980 Winter Olympics, when the US Men’s Ice Hockey Team managed to pull off an unlikely victory over the Soviet team. It’s a compelling story, based on the true history of the event. It also stars Kurt Russell as head coach Herb Brooks, which is always a bonus. It won Sports Movie of the Year at the ESPY’s 2004, and it was also nominated for the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Cheers list. There is a 1981 docu-drama on the subject, called The Miracle On Ice, but this 2004 drama is superior, treating its subject matter with more respect and accuracy.
Goon (2011)
Hmmm…hear us out. This is a very good movie, based on several caveats. First, you must like slapstick comedy and gross-out humor. Secondly, you must like Seann William Scott, which is not always a given. However, Scott carries this movie, bringing heart and soul to the main role as a bouncer given a chance to shine in the minor leagues. It might actually be his best performance. It’s got a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and even the legendary Roger Ebert gave it three out of four stars. Best skip the sequels, though.
Slap Shot (1978)
It is arguable that most of the best sports movies deal with the uglier, grittier side of the game, not the big moments of glory. That’s where Slap Shot sits, covering the life and times of a small-town minor league team and its players. It stars the great Paul Newman, which is reason enough to find it on streaming services, but it also has a lot to say about a changing America, set to the backdrop of a closing steel mill and how sports can offer hope to a community. It’s also very funny.
Mystery, Alaska (1999)
If you want to know what Russell Crowe was doing between L.A. Confidential and before global superstardom beckoned with Gladiator, this was it. Crowe stars as the sheriff of the small town of Mystery, and he’s also one of the players on the local ice hockey team, which plays every Saturday, bringing the entire town out to watch. As it transpires, this Alaskan team’s ability to skate is so good that some believe it’s of the standard of the NHL, so the New York Rangers are invited to play. It was a box-office flop, and it wasn’t beloved by critics. But it’s become something of a cult favorite.
