Customer Reviews

Mystery, Alaska

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This charming film didn't get the positive praise it deserved. It was absolutely wonderful. The small Alaskan town of "Mystery" has a quirky "Northern Exposure" feel to it, and a wonderful ensemble cast add a lot of fun and games.

The "Saturday" hockey game leads off this fairy-tale story of David vs. Goliath, as their hometown boys go against the NHL'S New York Rangers. Former "townie" Hank Azaria starts this whole thing by writing a spotlight on the "Saturday Game" for Sports Illustrated and well.. Mystery is never the same after that. Russell Crowe turns in a great performance as "slightly older" town Sherif John Biebe, who is the heart and soul of the much younger hockey team. There are many wonderful smaller performances by faces you'll certainly know and love. It's a wonderfully sweet, charming and funny (with classic one liners from MANY of the young players) movie that only HAPPENS to be about hockey. There is so much more to it. You don't have to know a thing about hockey to appreciate this fun and lighthearted movie. It's right up there with my all-time favs. Definatley worth a look!

I rented this DVD having never even heard of the movie.But after having watched it, Mystery, Alaska has become one of my favorite movies. This enjoyable tale about a town full of eccentric, hockey-obsessed people, moves along at a nice, steady pace. Unlike many movies these days, Mystery, Alaska doesn't rush through important plot points. When a former neighbor returns home bringing the New York Rangers to play against Mystery's legendary hockey team, the town sheriff, recently bumped from the team for a younger player who's got "jump", agrees to coach. The members of the team are fleshed out well by an ensemble cast of virtual unknowns, with the exception of Russell Crowe. The ending is exciting, and surprisingly unpredictable. For me, the actor that stole the show was Ryan Northcott, a barely credited character, who plays the pivotal role of the high school skating whiz who takes Russell Crowe's place on the team. He has a couple of the most amusing, and embarassing, scenes in the movie, and handles them with humor and grace. Overall, Mystery, Alaska was a funny, enjoyable movie that I recommend to everyone. You don't have to be a hockey fan to love Mystery, Alaska.

This review refers to the Hollywood Pictures DVD edition of "Mystery,Alaska"....

The small close-knit town of Mystery, Alaska(pop.633), is obssesed with the game of Hockey. Everyone in the town is invovled. There's even a committee of the important men of the town whose sole job it is to decide who will be on the team in the all important Saturday games.There in their own little niche of the world, they go about their business, live their quirky little lives and all revolving around their hockey team.All that is about to change though...

An ex-Mysterian who has moved to New York and is now a sports promoter has lined up the game of a lifetime for this little town. They will play the New York Rangers in an exhibition game right there in Mystery.Will it turn into more than an exhibition game for these everyday people? The team is good but how good are they? Can they even score against the Rangers? What will it do to their pride if the Rangers annihlate them? You'll be smiling all the way through with these outlandish characters in this funny yet poignant story, as you find out.

The film has a tremendous cast. It stars Russell Crowe, Hank Azaria and Burt Reynolds.(Also look for a great cameo in the commentators booth!) It also includes Lolita Davidovich,Maury Chaykin, Mary McCormack and Colm Meany.A wonderful screenplay by David E. Kelley and Sean O'Byrne, beautiful photography by Peter Deming and expertly directed by Jay Roach all add to the enjoyment of this film.

It is presented on the DVD in the theatrical widescreen aspect of 2.35.1 and is beautifully transfered.I noticed on the technical information on the product page of this DVD, it has Dolby 2.0 for the sound, but you'll be happy to find out that it is actually in the 5.1, so those with a home theatre system will get the full effect of every slap shot! There's a short featurette on the filming, and it has closed captions for hearing impaired viewers. These are real nice, I checked them out and they are nice and clear and below the film(in the black bar portion under the widescreen).

The people of Mystery will melt your heart as the heat up the ice......have fun...Laurie

also recommended:
Northern Exposure Seasons 1 - 4 DVD Bundle
Diamonds
IF I NEVER GET BACK. A Novel.

I wasn't sure if I would like this movie because I do not like Russell Crowe at all. The only reason I agreed to sit through it was that the rest of the ensemble cast was so good. I ended up enjoying this film. Who doesn't like a film where you can root for the underdog? The hockey team in Mystery, Alaska ends up playing an exhibition game against the New York Rangers. Everyone has the same question - can they compete? This is a movie that can appeal to many because while there are some very funny moments, there is also a lot of drama.

This is a great movie. No 100 million dollar budgets and wowee special effects. Just good writing and great characters. Oh yeah, and hockey. I love hockey. I think it's the sport of the gods. And I went to see this in the theaters because it featured hockey. But now I watch it because it's a great movie. and it would be a great movie no matter what sport it dealt with (even basketball, yuck!).

It star s apre-Gladiator Russel Crowe who is the town Sherriff and player during the Saturday Game. The people in mystery love hockey. Their lives revolve around it. Colm Meany plays the town mayor who is for all intents-and-purposes, the general manager of the "team". Hank Azaria plays the town prodigal son who left town for the bright lights and big city of New York and returns promising a game against the New York Rangers as a publicity stunt.

Admist all the fervor of playing against an NHL team on live TV, Burt Reynolds plays the towns Judge, who cautions them to think it through before agreeing to play a professional team.

Eventually we get to see the game, and it was nice to see them not end it with a total "feel-good" ending. You can probably guess what I mean by that, but you should buy or rent it anyway.

I only gave the DVD 4 stars because the DVD was woefully short on extras. Only the usual we have come to expect... commentary tracks and a very short "making of..." filmette. Still, it's a great buy.

This film has something for everyone. This story of the Saturday Game in the small town of Mystery, AK unfolds into a wonderful story, not just of a pond-hockey team playing against the New York Rangers, but of the pride of an entire town. It is full of light hearted humor, but this movie is no joke. You become a citizen of Mystery as you not only laugh, but also cry and of course, cheer. Mystery Alaska has enough hockey to keep any sports fan entertained. The movie also has plenty of action and drama to please the crowd that asks "Wayne who?" It truely is a movie for all. If you are a hockey fan, I am here to tell you, this is the new "Slap Shot".

I have to begin this by saying that I am a hockey fan. But I think I liked "Mystery Alaska" becasue it's a really good story. Many movies try to dazzle you with an all star cast and huge special effects budget, but in the end only disappoint you because at the core of the film there's no actual story. "Mystery Alaska" is the story of a quirky little town that revolves around the Saturday hockey game played on the local pond. Being a member of the team is a prestigious and revered position in Mystery. There is no pay or world wide fame gained from being in the Saturday game, but the men play because their fathers played, and their fathers played. It's funny to watch the men obsess over the their spot on the team, because only a select few hold those spots. When one of the men is replaced by the young up and comer in town, it's almost as though someone has died. "Mystery Alaska" does boast a great cast, including: Russell Crowe (Gladiator), Colm Meany (Con Air) & Burt Reynolds. If you like the feel good sports movie genre, and also enjoy a little quirky humor, then this might be the movie for you.

If you're interested in this movie, it's probably because it stars Russell Crowe. But if you thought that was the only reason to see this film, have I got some good news for you.

Mystery, Alaska, population 633, is a town obsessed with hockey. From the time they're children, every Mystery boy's dream is to be a member of the town's unnamed hockey team in the weekly "Saturday game." Through a sequence of events only slightly farfetched, the Mystery team is scheduled for an exhibitition game with the visiting New York Rangers, an event of only slightly less importance to this hockey-struck town than the Second Coming. One of the many great things about this movie is the town's reaction to news of the impending game. They're not awestruck by the Rangers, the visiting demi-gods; their first reaction is, "Can we win?" If Mystery plays, they intend to win. The Rangers might be big league American hockey, but Mystery has faith in its boys. It knows they're great even if the rest of the world doesn't.

The movie is about how the town and its inhabitants are affected by the upcoming game. The game itself, though perfectly realized in the film, is almost incidental. Colm Meaney (late of Star Trek: The Next Generattion and Deep Space Nine) plays the town mayor who discovers his wife (Lolita Davidovich) is sleeping with a member of the hockey team. Hank Azaria is Charles Danner, the home town boy who was never respected growing up, became a reporter out in the great big world, brings back to Mystery the NEW YORK RANGERS....and finds he's still not respected. Donna Biebe (Mary McCormack) is the girl Charles loved in high school, now married to team captain and town sheriff John Biebe (Crowe). Burt Reynolds, who still has it, and in spades, after all these years, plays town judge Walter Burns. Walter as a young man wasn't good enough for the Saturday game, a fact he's never forgotten and a source of conflict with his son, who's made the current team. But Walter was good enough for minor league hockey in the lower 48, making him the perfect choice to coach the team for and through the big game. He's the only person in town who really understands North American hockey. For his own reasons, he refuses.

Then there's Russell Crowe as John Biebe. The big game comes at the tail end of John's career. After 13 years in the Saturday game - a Mystery record - he's cut from the team just before news of the Rangers' visit hits town. And the town fathers, whose most solemn duties involve administering the hockey team, don't want him back. A man of quiet strength but not good at expressing his softer emotions, John doesn't know how to tell his wife how much he loves her when he sees Charles flirting, and her flirting back. The way he figures out finally to do that is both inventive and touching.

Though this movie "stars" Russell Crowe, it's not a star driven vehicle, it's an ensemble piece. And while Russell is wonderful as John Biebe, for my money the best performance in the film is Ron Eldard as "Skank" Marden, Mystery hockey player and dedicated fornicator. The scene where Skank appears on the mayor's doorstep one frozen night to apologize to the man he's cuckolded is, I think, the highlight of the film. It's fascinating to watch the unexpected decency, sensitivity, and dignity emerge from what til then seemed an indecent, shallow, undignified man.

The hockey game footage is convincing - thrilling, actually. Russell learned to ice skate for this role, and, with the help of some careful editing, looks pretty darn good on the ice. Numerous Rangers play themselves.

Mystery, Alaska has been called "Rocky On Ice" and that's a fair description. Yes, the film deals with a hockey game, but that's not what makes it special. This isn't a dumb, gimmicky, braindead hockey flick like The Mighty Ducks. It's a character driven, imaginative, well-acted drama....that happens to work within the framework of a story about a hockey game. By the time the Rangers arrive in Mystery you're totally on the home team's side, rooting for them because you've come to care for the Mystery boys, and respect the sacrifices they, and the town as a whole, have made for this game. Like Rocky, Mystery, Alaska shows you don't need a huge budget to make a good movie when you have a great script, solid direction, good actors, and the film possesses that quality indefinable but impossible to mistake or ignore: "heart."

So, can a team of pond hockey players from Mystery, Alaska REALLY beat the New York Rangers? Watch this movie and find out.

Cute little movie about Alaskan small town community bonds together for their men when they host a hockey game against, incredibly, The New York Rangers! This is the breakout/sleeper role I remember Russell Crowe in, he plays captain of the Mystery, Alaska Team who don't really have a chance except for all that home-town spirit on their side and of course, they are used to the -20 degree weather! Has that 'northern exposure-feel' to it. Not a 5 star but, definitely a 4. See this movie and you may just want to see it again!

What makes MYSTERY ALASKA such a joyful movie experience is its heart, and the remarkably good cast. In the vein of such films as ROCKY, the story of the Mystery Alaska team facing the New York Rangers is merely a means to the end. What this movie is really about is pride, loyalty and the sense of courage to go against seemingly unreachable odds and come out with your pride and honor intact. This is not a "Russell Crowe" movie, although the Oscar winner is superb as John Biebe. This is a group effort and the cast has some shining moments: Ron Eldard (The Runner) plays Skank, the team's sexually active member, who is screwing the mayor's wife (Lolita Davidovich). In a memorable scene, Eldard confronts the Mayor (Colm Meany) and apologizes to him, with a sense of sincerity you hadn't seen before. One expects Meany to throw a punch or yell and scream; watch to find out how it plays out. Lolita Davidovich and Meany also have a tense but touching moment when she tells him why she slept with Eldard; Crowe and Mary McCormack as his wife share several touching scenes that show how deep a love can go; Burt Reynolds as the gruff judge/coach has a shining moment when he addresses the townspeople in a trial of a player who shot a visiting department store magnate in the foot; Maury Chaykin as Bailey Pruitt has key scenes and a very poignant one in the courtroom; Judith Ivey as Reynolds's wife has a wonderful moment when she's discussing sex with her teenage daughter (Rachel Wilson). The movie is full of nice scenes, and refreshing changes of pace thanks to the screenplay by David E. Kelley (Picket Fences). Even Hank Azaria as the homeboy producer avoids the expected cliches of his role---one can tell he really did love Beibe's wife.
A real surprise of a movie, one that should entertain and make you feel good.