| "Mystery, Alaska"
Reviewed by Carlos deVillalvilla
(Click on the images to see larger version and credits.)
 From TV's current flavor of the month David E. Kelley
comes the town of Mystery, a small settlement amid the
magnificent scenery of Alaska. There isn't much to do
there, so an awful lot of fornicating goes on. There
is also a weekly hockey game that involves the young
men of the town playing against one another on the
town pond. The wide open space of the pond breeds
tremendous skaters, guys who take flight on ice.
It also attracts the attention of Sports Illustrated
writer Charlie Danner (Hank Azaria), who is actually
an ex-townie who was never well-liked. He calls them
the best pond-hockey players in the world, and
arranges a game with the NHL's New York Rangers (like
that would happen). And, predictably, this energizes
the town and it's somewhat quirky inhabitants.
 There's the passionate, but somewhat befuddled lawyer
(Maury Chaykin) who sits on the town's hockey
committee, and loves Mystery perhaps more than anyone
else. There's the crusty but good-hearted mayor (Colm
Meaney). There's the curmudgeonly judge who wants
nothing to do with the game (Burt Reynolds). There's
also the libidinous defenseman (Ron Eldard) who has
more cojones than sense. Finally, there's Sheriff
John Biebe (Russell Crowe), who is a veteran of the
Saturday game recently demoted, now the reluctant
coach of the team.
| DVD notes Virtually no extras. Crisp, clear digital
sound and image don't make up for a DVD price. Unless
you absolutely have to have the theatrical trailer,
skip the DVD and order the VHS tape instead. (A demur from Doc: No video tape is going to have the picture quality of a DVD, and the VHS quality will start to degrade seriously after 10 years or so; if you are going to BUY a film, always choose DVD over VHS when possible. If you treat them decently, a DVD will be good past our lifetimes. Rent it before you buy it to see if you like it, ya know?) |
This being a sports underdog movie, the overall
outcome is more or less predictable. Director Jay
Roach (both of the Austin Powers movies) has assembled
a fine cast. Reynolds, for example, is fast becoming a
great character actor after years of floundering in
lead roles after his glory years. Crowe
shows some of the qualities that would elevate him in
movies such as "The Insider" and "Gladiator," but here
he's not quite as luminous as he would become in those
breakout roles.
The success of "Mystery, Alaska" lies in creating a
mood, and that is done rather well. Take away the
unbelievable scenario and the sports-film cliches and
you'd have a mighty good movie. Those obstacles, alas,
are too difficult to overcome and this becomes just a
pretty good movie.
Theater or Video?
Some nice Alaskan vistas (filmed in
Canada) but mostly, this takes place in a TV-like
environment. Small screen all the way.
DVD at Amazon.com.
VHS at Amazon.com.
See cast, credit and other details about "Mystery, Alaska" at Internet Movie Data Base.
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