WASHINGTON — Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the movie “Slap Shot,” a cult classic starring Paul Newman that produced the infamous Hanson Brothers and had an appearance from former Capitals coach (current Minnesota coach) Bruce Boudreau. Who hasn’t seen a Chiefs sweater at a hockey game?
In the film, Newman plays Reggie Dunlop, an aging player-coach of a local hockey team, the Charleston Chiefs. The Chiefs, having been a losing franchise for several years, are playing in their final season due to the team’s expected fold at the end of the season. Dunlop is stuck with the immature Hanson Brothers, three men who never grew up and play a brand of “goon” hockey, enticing fights and rough play.
Dunlop plants a story that a retirement community in Florida is interested in purchasing the Chiefs in the hopes that this will get the team sold to an actual buyer. But the owner of the team wants it to fold so he can secure a tax write-off. In the end, the championship game for the Chiefs will be the final one for the club, and Dunlop tries to end his career with a “clean” game, with no shenanigans from the Hanson Brothers — but the team they play in that final game, Syracuse, is out for revenge on Dunlop and the team and tries as hard as it can to make Dunlop’s dream unattainable.
Newman went on to say Dunlop was one of his favorite characters to play in his career. The screenplay was written by Nancy Dowd, whose brother’s experiences playing minor league hockey in the 1970s served as inspiration. Her brother, Ned Dowd, not only appeared in the movie but also ended up launching a career in Hollywood afterward. Many of the movie’s segments were based on actual events in minor league hockey.
“Slap Shot” is sort of the “Caddyshack” of hockey movies, providing plenty of NSFA (not safe for this article) lines, which, along with all of the fighting, make it an R-rated film — but, if you like hockey, comedy and Paul Newman (and who doesn’t?), then this film is worth watching at least once. Consider this an item for your bucket list. Heck, it even spawned two sequels!
