Slap Shot (1977)

Slap Shot (1977) is a rough-edged, darkly comic sports drama about a struggling minor‑league hockey team in a fading Rust Belt town that rediscovers success by embracing brutal, outrageous “goon” tactics. When coach/player Reggie Dunlop faces the likely closure and sale of the Charlestown Chiefs, he hatches a plan to revive interest — and ticket sales — by turning the team into spectacle, leaning on the menacingly simple Hanson brothers and a new, violent style of play. That sudden shift puts him at odds with principled young star Ned Braden and fuels friction off the ice with wives, owners and the town itself. Seeing the film you’ll get a mix of satirical bite and sweaty, physical action: raucous locker‑room humor, slapstick brawls on the ice, and blunt, often profane dialogue that lampoons both small‑town desperation and the commercialization of sport. The movie balances broad, outrageous comedy (especially from the Hanson brothers) with quieter, bittersweet moments about loyalty, masculinity and the cost of winning. The on‑ice scenes are visceral and chaotic, the crowd atmosphere electric, and the tone swings between mean-spirited laughs and genuine sympathy for characters trying to survive when their livelihoods vanish. If you like sports movies that aren’t sentimental, with an irreverent, adult sense of humor and a gritty, late‑1970s look and feel, Slap Shot delivers an energetic, uncomfortable, and often hilarious ride — just be prepared for graphic on‑ice violence, coarse language, and moral ambiguity.

Actors: Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Strother Martin

Director: George Roy Hill

Runtime: 123 min

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Sport

6.5 /10 61 /100 7.3 /10 6.6 /10