Seann William Scott's Goon Show
Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott - Planet 51) is a not too bright bouncer, a genuinely decent guy who is polite and friendly to everyone, even those who is boss expects him to rough up. It is why he is a bit of a disappointment to his parents especially as his brother has followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a doctor. Whilst at an ice-hockey game with his friend Pat (Jay Baruchel - She's Out of My League) he finds himself having to stand up to protect his smart mouthed friend when he goes to far and ends up becoming a sensation when he lays out a hockey player, splitting his helmet open with a head butt. It leads to Doug being signed up to play for a team as an enforcer despite having never played ice hockey let alone the fact that he can't ice skate. But it also leads to him come up against Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber) his ice hockey idol.
Ever since taking on the role of Stifler, Seann William Scott seems to be in a constant battle to escape from his shadows and I will admit when I see Scott's name attached to amovie I think here we go with another crude comedy. The irony is that Seann William Scott isn't the deliverer of the crude and crass in "Goon" that comes from Jay Baruchel who goes above and beyond to be obnoxious and succeeds as he delivers one of his most annoying performances yet. In fact Seann William Scott shows a very different side to his character, playing it as a gentle big guy, a nice guy with the ability to dish out a lot of pain and Scott impresses in this slight change of character.
But whilst Seann William Scott is genuinely entertaining in "Goon" the rest of the movie only scrapes in as okay. As I said Baruchel delivers a truly obnoxious performance and he is not the only one as every single supporting actor spews out the sort of dialogue you expect to have come out of Scott's mouth. And then, well there is some romance but basically there is a lot of violence as we see Doug deliver out a variety of bloody beatings to a variety of people. There is probably as much violence in "Goon" as there is comedy which whilst probably making it authentic it is also a strange experience as you are never sure whether to laugh or cringe.
What this all boils down to is that "Goon" is strangely entertaining but for me it is down to Seann William Scott playing a very different sort of character to what you expect and doing it well. But beyond that I am not sure as to whether "Goon" works or not as at times it seems little more than an excuse for violence.
