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Parents' Guide to

Goon

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Bloody sports dramedy about brutal life of hockey enforcer.

Movie R 2012 91 minutes
Goon Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 16+

Based on 1 parent review

age 16+

Goon is Great

I really enjoyed this, way more than I thought. I'm not sure if I love the message of "do what you do best" even if it's getting punched in the face, but Sean Scott brings great tenderness and likability to his character; Kind of a butt kicking Forrest Gump. Lot s of gross splattering blood and brutal hand to hand fights, as well as several cocaine references and some sexualized nudity and tons of profanity and suggestive dialogue. Through that all though, the film manages to have heart and you really feel for the character and his makeshift family

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (14 ):

This movie's characters are thinly drawn, and many of them aren't all that likable. Doug isn't a particularly bright guy -- as even he admits in several scenes -- but he's smart enough to realize that being a goon might be a decent career for a man with few other skills. Goon the movie, however is even less intelligent. Doug is sweet -- really the only nice person in the film -- but it's hard to watch him get brutalized over and over. And the fight scenes are quite gory, with bloody puddles on the ice and close-ups of teeth sliding across the rink.

Goon is supposedly based on a true story (it was inspired by the nonfiction book Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey by Dough Smith and Adam Frattasio), which may be why the script by Superbad co-writer Evan Goldberg and Judd Apatow regular Jay Baruchel includes a scene in which Doug's parents walk out of a restaurant, ashamed of their son's job; it feels like it was just thrown in for no particular reason. The same goes for Doug's budding relationship with Eva (Alison Pill), who likes him, then spurns him, then likes him, again with no explanation. In the end, Goon is a mix of standardized sports-movie cliches, hardcore fistfights (certain to appeal to some viewers), some raunchy humor, and scenes that don't fit together.

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