Slap Shot

A comedy built around minor-league ice hockey. Charlestown is a small industrial town and its mill is about to close. The local hockey team plays badly and loses money. Reggie, who runs the team as both player and coach, is looking for a way out. The way he finds is to sell violence. Once the team starts fighting, the stands fill. The quality of play drops, the crowd grows, and nobody questions it. The idea is not sport but what the entertainment business actually sells. The town's unemployment and the anger in the stands feed from the same source. Nancy Dowd wrote the screenplay, drawing her material from what her brother told her about playing in the lower leagues and from recordings she made on the team bus. The harshness of the dialogue caused argument on release. Paul Newman plays Reggie; he said it was among his own favourite roles. George Roy Hill directed. The film became a cult item over time and still holds a particular place within hockey. Among the best of its kind for anyone who likes sports comedy and the bleak American films of the 1970s. Before you watch, know this: there is heavy profanity throughout and the film does not soften it.