I don’t know what movie Jay Baruchel saw, but apparently he didn’t find Raging Bull funny – at all. Company that with his displeasure with the lack of solid film representation for the sport of hockey and you get what he hopes to be one of his next projects. I’m picturing it as The King of Comedy on ice, but Baruchel describes Goon (the film’s title) to Coming Soon as more “a funnier version of Raging Bull”. I’m not gonna lie, I love Raging Bull a great deal, but if there is one thing that could make it better it’s seeing Jake La Motta on ice skates with a stick. I think I’m seeing the humor aspect of this story now.
Kidding aside the way Baruchel sells the feel of the picture to Coming Soon is rather intriguing. Other than Slapshot the hockey sport hasn’t had much of a strong artistic film presence and has been relegated to the house of the sports film cliché for its other strong installments (Mystery, Alaska and Miracle). Baruchel and co-scripter Evan Goldberg (Superbad) are looking to change that with Goon when they start filming, hopefully, in August.
Neither Goldberg nor Baruchel have an expansive filmography as a writer, but both Superbad and Pineapple Express (penned by Goldberg) were two of the funnier pictures released their year. Combine his talents with Baruchel’s comical work as “Danger” in Clint Eastwood’s Academy-Award winning Million Dollar Baby and they seem to have their gritty sports film and comic experience covered. Here’s hoping that Jay Baruchel becomes the next Emilio Estevez.
