Reggie (Paul Newman) is coach of the Charlestown Chiefs ice hockey team. Their popularity is waning, and the economic downturn of the general area means the paying audience that they need to stay afloat just isn't there. Salvation comes when an outbreak of extreme violence on the ice strikes a chord with the fans; angry at a faceless system, they crave blood. The more of it that gets shed, the more popular the team becomes.
I don't personally consider
Slap Shot to be a 'sports' movie, but it's a movie and it has sporting action, so call it what you will. What's important is that it stands strong by avoiding the woeful clichés that often plague the genre. And while it has a lot of comedy, it's played straight, not slapstick. Even the most violent members, the three Hanson brothers, are bloody hilarious at times.
3½ crazy pucks out of 5
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