Enforcers Week On Film: Jay Baruchel On The Goon Films

The two Goon films both capture what it truly means to be an enforcer in the sport of hockey. The main man behind them Jay Baruchel explains what makes these films so resonant with the hockey world.

Film Names: Goon and Goon: Last of the Enforcers

Cast: Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Marc-André Grondin, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill

Critical/Viewer Reception (via Rotten Tomatoes):

“Exuberantly off-color, bloody, and frequently laugh-'til-you-choke hilarious” – Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle

“Baruchel oversees matters with skill and enthusiasm...and Scott is once again (amiable-ness) incarnate as the good-hearted Glatt” – Clark Collis, Entertainment Weekly

“In some ways, Goon: Last of the Enforcers actually manages to improve upon its forebear, connecting on jabs at a rate roughly equal to that of the earlier film but this time...mixing in some gut-punches, too” – Mike Laws, Village Voice

Plot Summaries

In the 2011 first “Goon” film, writer and producer Jay Baruchel and director Michael Dowse introduced audiences to their colorful (especially with its language) world of minor-league pro hockey. Dude, Where’s My Car and American Pie star Seann William Scott is the central figure of the film, and he’s surrounded by a talented cast of actors who ate up every bit of the dialogue Baruchel and creative partner Evan Goldberg served up to them. These are two stories about a blue-collar team that endures adversity – the first film was shot in Winnipeg, a blue-collar town in its own right, and the second film was shot in Ontario – and anyone, hockey fan or not, can relate to them.

The sequel, Goon: Last of the Enforcers, brings back all the key cast members to give viewers more of what worked so well in the first film: pinpoint accuracy with its on-ice scenes, smart writing, and an emotional punch. And Baruchel – speaking to THN.com on Tuesday – is particularly pleased with that sense of realism he wanted and got for the on-ice action.

“In a word, ‘proud’ – very, very proud,” Baruchel said when asked what he feels about the enduring legacy of the Goon movies. “I will say this: with every year, it doesn’t feel like fewer or fewer people see (the films)... and I would argue that the (movies) do a good job in presenting the action and the emotion of hockey. I’m proud of that.”

Why Hockey Players Love It

Baruchel worked with two different hockey scene coordinators – in Winnipeg, he worked with Billy Keane, brother of former NHL star Mike Keane; and in the sequel in Ontario, he teamed up with renowned hockey coach Adrian Lomonaco, shooting scenes at the Maple Leafs’ training facility in south-west Toronto.

The result was something many hockey movies struggle with – namely, how to best-reproduce the actual experience of players competing as ferociously as they can. Baruchel leaned on Canada’s hockey-adoring culture to get as realistic of a performance as was possible. He succeeded, but he was typically humble and affable when discussing the filmmaking process — especially in the sequel, which was his full-length directorial debut.

“If you’re a Canadian making a hockey movie in Canada, you’re spoiled for riches,” Baruchel said. “I wanted to have the boys get as much training as we could. By the boys, I mean the actors, the stunt doubles, the special service extras.

“We had a different trainer for each film – the first time, it was Mike Keane’s brother, Billy Keane, who trained our guys. Then it was Adrian Lomonaco for the second one. I got to work closely with him at what is now the Ford Center. Lots of fun hockey shots with him. We would write specific plays and specific fights into the script, and Adrian and I would sit down and go hockey-sequence-by-hockey-sequence (to adapt them).”

Why Hockey Fans Love Them

The Goon movies are loved by fans because Baruchel has crafted a clear love letter to the sport, taking his undying affection for his hometown Montreal Canadiens and building out a very funny, very realistic couple of stories about the game and its culture.

And don’t think Baruchel doesn’t realize how hard-core his fandom of the Habs truly is. He most certainly does.

“There are times when there’s an absurdity with my relationship with a Montreal Canadiens team that doesn’t care what my relationship is to them, or about their relationship to me – nor should they care,” Baruchel said. “And yet, I will occasionally find myself infuriated with something they do. I find the ties that bind can fray when there’s a collision between the sport and the finance of the sport, but all-in-all, it’s no more or less insane than anything else I care about, really.

“But hey, if (Canadiens star forward) Cole Caufield scores 40 or more goals this season, I’ll be absolutely elated.”

Biggest Takeaway

The Goon films shine because the cast is letter-perfect, and because Baruchel knows his homeland and the hockey world is willing to eat up a well-told on-and-off-ice story. He was raised on the game and the Canadiens, and he’s been named the Habs’ honorary captain by current majority team owner Geoff Molson. Baruchel also was fortunate enough to enjoy Montreal’s recent trip to the Stanley Cup Final, in no small part because it showed his wife what’s so appealing about rooting for the Habs.

“It’s hard to beat being at the Bell Centre, Game 4 of the Cup Finals when Josh Anderson scored in overtime,” Baruchel said. “I just assumed I’d never see a Cup Final in Montreal. I don’t come from a subtle place – I was walking back with my wife from the Bell Centre and telling her, ‘This is why we love this team!’ Habs fans riot when they’re happy. If we lose, you can hear a pin drop in Montreal. So to be in the building for that game was pretty special.”

Baruchel’s affection for his favorite team and the game in general is evident when he’s speaking about any number of hockey topics. His all-time favorite player is Saku Koivu (“He came back from cancer on my birthday; A second-liner who played like a first-liner; He was undersized and he played like a lion every shift, every f****** shift”). And he has intensely disliked the Mats Sundin-Era Maple Leafs, as well as, “Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand – anyone from Boston – and Sean Avery”.

Baruchel makes no efforts to temper his fandom – he indulges it. More than 10 years after the first Goon film came out, the movies make it clear that Baruchel loves who and what he loves, and that emotion is what ultimately is at the core of the Goon movies.

“From the outset, we wanted it to be the same, but different,” Baruchel said of the sequel. “We were honoring the love people have for the first one. But it was a hell of a movie to start out with (as a director). A hell of a movie.”