Score: A Hockey Musical is a 2010 Canadian coming-of-age musical comedy film written and directed by Michael McGowan starring Noah Reid, Allie MacDonald, Olivia Newton-John, Marc Jordan and Nelly Furtado. The story follows a sheltered, pacifistic teenager who becomes a star player in a violent junior ice hockey league.
The film opened five international film festivals in September 2010 leading up to the 2010–11 NHL season. It was generally seen as a crowd-pleaser and a campy celebration of Canadiana, but some critics faulted the populist effort as having little or no cinematic merit. It was nominated for two Directors Guild of Canada Awards and an ACTRA Award.
Background Ice hockey is Canada's national winter sport and has been connected to Canadian nationalism since the country's early history. The violent and aggressive style of hockey separated it from sports of Europe and the United States, and Canadians took ownership of the sport which was seen to display a stoic, courageous and dominant masculinity of First Nations cultures and early Canadian settlers. While Canadians later developed an international reputation of being polite and peaceful, ice hockey remained a forum in which violence is embraced.
While there is little violence in informal pick-up games where players may not use protective equipment, occurrences of fighting increase with the player's age and the level of competition. From around ages 12 to 14, players tend to either drop out of competitive leagues or become socialized into the culture of violence. Such players consider fistfights to be "sticking up for oneself", an obligatory and self-defensive response to intimidation. Failure to decisively respond to intimidation can cause the player to lose face, be targeted by further intimidation, and become distracted from the game. Within hockey culture, unwritten rules regarding hockey fights are known as "the code".
Synopsis
While playing pick-up hockey at his local outdoor rink, seventeen-year-old Farley Gordon resoundingly defeats a competitive player who challenges him ("Darryl vs. The Kid"). Farley meets his neighbour Eve, who is also homeschooled and sheltered. While Farley sees their relationship as platonic, Eve has secretly developed romantic feelings for him ("Best Friends").
Refuting his parents' concerns that hockey is too rough ("Frozen Toe"), Farley returns to the rink where he meets Walt Acorn, owner of junior ice hockey team the Brampton Blades. Acorn tries to recruit Farley but his parents are opposed, expressing their perspective through the folk song "Hugs". Farley discusses it with Eve and decides to attend a Blades practice ("Give it a Shot"). Coach Donker is unimpressed with Farley, who twice dekes through the defence to score but is then knocked out by a violent bodycheck from enforcer Moose. Donker warns that Farley does not have the skills to defend himself ("Buck 55").
The following day during warmups, rival enforcers start a bench-clearing brawl. Late to arrive, Farley has difficulty comprehending the spectacle which he is told is part of the game ("Kraft Dinner"). Farley is given the first face-off and scores in six seconds, collecting four goals and two assists by the end of the game. Farley is celebrated, but his parents still do not appreciate hockey ("Baboons"). Farley receives increasing media attention with successive games, while his teammates champion and protect him. However, he misses practices to volunteer with Eve, and Donker does not know how to make him treat the sport as more than a game ("Donker's Dilemma").
Farley engages in male bonding rituals with the team ("Boyfriends"), receives endorsement deals and is considered a contender for first draft pick. He becomes jealous when he sees Eve being taught to ice skate by her concert partner Marco, though Farley attracts puck bunnies. An imagined slight leads to a bench-clearing brawl, and Donker orders everyone to pick an opponent. Frustrated at having allowed a hat trick, the opposing goaltender charges Farley who ducks and covers, taking a few punches until the brawl ends in stunned silence at this disgrace. After being reprimanded by Donker, the team tell Farley how "the code" is inherently tied to their sense of masculinity and honour. They warn that if Farley does not fight back, opponents will think they can attack him with impunity. Failing to fight is also separating him from the brotherhood of the team ("Pacifism Defence"). The media turn against Farley, his endorsement deals are withdrawn, he suffers more hits on the ice and his goals are met with booing. Farley considers abandoning his pacifism and talks with Eve, but becomes frustrated when he sees a gift from Marco and realizes he forgot her birthday. His parents encourage him to quit the team ("Ordinary Boy").
Farley witnesses Marco making an advance on Eve and realizes his feelings for her. The neighbourhood hockey players encourage Farley to confess his feelings to Eve ("Boy in the Bubble"). However, when he sees Eve outside their homes, he accuses her of lying about Marco ("Dead and Done"). The pressure builds on Farley and when goaltender Jean-Luc challenges him, Farley fights him. Immediately afterward, Farley walks away from the game and the team, feeling that he has lost his identity ("Toe to Toe").
Farley tries to make sense of his life. He goes to the empty Blades arena at night where he has a vision of Walter Gretzky, Theo Fleury and other hockey personalities and decides to find his own way to express heroism ("Legends"). Farley apologizes to Eve and they confess their feelings for each other ("Eve's a Goddess").
Farley rejoins the team. His teammates accept his pacifism but remain concerned that opponents will target him. At the next game, Farley is immediately challenged, dodges a few swings, then pins his opponent's arms in a bear hug until the other player surrenders from embarrassment. Farley wins back the crowd and there is a spontaneous celebration of the sport ("Hockey, The Greatest Game in the Land").
Cast
Noah Reid as Farley Gordon Allie MacDonald as Eve Olivia Newton-John as Hope Gordon Marc Jordan as Edgar Gordon Nelly Furtado as an ardent hockey fan Stephen McHattie as Walt Acorn K. Trevor Wilson as shirtless fan John Pyper-Ferguson as Coach Donker John Robinson as Ace, the assistant coach Dru Viergever as Moose, the Blades enforcer Chris Ratz as Maurice George Stroumboulopoulos as an arena announcer Evan Solomon as himself Brandon Firla as Don Mohan, an executive with Icing International Management Gianpaolo Venuta as Marco, a concert pianist Steve Kouleas as himself Wesley Morgan as a sensitive player Marc Trottier as Jean Luc, the Braces goalie Paul O'Sullivan as a doctor Walter Gretzky as himself Theo Fleury as himself John McDermott as himself Hawksley Workman as Gump Thomas Mitchell as Darryl
Production Writing and development
Director Michael McGowan wrote the script. Music had been integral to his previous film, One Week, and he decided to go further in that direction with a musical. While developing ideas in January 2009, he thought he could find humour by setting the musical in hockey culture. The project was developed under the working title Hockey: The Musical.
McGowan took some inspiration from musical film Once, the duet in Juno and the closing dance number in Slumdog Millionaire. McGowan wrote the lyrics so that the songs advanced the narrative and worked with Canadian composers to set them to music. Farley wears jersey 14, in recognition of one of McGowan's favourite hockey players, Maple Leafs centre Dave Keon, a hall-of-fame professional who won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for two consecutive seasons as most gentlemanly player.
Dance scenes were choreographed by Amy Wright. McGowan wanted to convey humour with the dancing hockey players and wanted them to be a little awkward and imperfect. Instead of employing figure skaters, Wright found ballet, jazz and hip-hop dancers who had a background in ice hockey. Months were spent to ensure the songs and choreography worked for the film.
Casting
Executive producer Jody Colero knew singer-songwriter Jordan and brought him in for the father role. Jordan's wife, Amy Sky, was friends with Olivia Newton-John and sent her the script. McGowan considered it a "casting coup" when the pop music icon agreed to co-star in the film, which also encouraged international sales. Jordan hadn't acted since a short period with The Groundlings. He credited scene partner Newton-John for helping him feel comfortable in the role.
McGowan expected to have difficulty casting the lead, but Reid was their first audition and satisfied the director with his acting, skating and singing. Reid's audition included some one-on-one play with McGowan at the Upper Canada College hockey rink. The biggest casting challenge proved to be the role of Eve, for which McGowan made a national search, finding that MacDonald could portray the "combination of innocence and quirkiness" that he sought for the role. Reid and MacDonald each had a background in musical theatre and each played hockey as children, Reid advancing to U14 select league for a year. Having played guitar from childhood, MacDonald undertook intensive training for the cello which was a mental and physical challenge.
The cast also includes singer-songwriters Nelly Furtado and Hawksley Workman, and cameos by Walter Gretzky and retired professional hockey player Theo Fleury.
Financing and filming The film was produced by McGowan and Avi Federgreen through Mulmar Feed Company with executive producers Jody Colero for music studio Silent Joe and Richard Hanet for distributor Mongrel Media. The production had a budget of $5.3 million. It received financing from Telefilm Canada ($2.2 million), the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the Harold Greenberg Fund, tax credits, a distributor advance, and broadcast licenses from CBC Television and The Movie Network. Additional funding was raised through embedded marketing, placing corporate logos on the boards of the hockey rink. The project was greenlit in November 2009.
It was filmed in the Greater Toronto Area over 25 days between 1 February and 8 March 2010. It was filmed by cinematographer Rudolf Blahacek using a Red One digital camera with a Fujinon Premier PL 18–85 T2.0 zoom lens. Locations include the Art Gallery of Ontario, the skating rink at Nathan Phillips Square, an ice rink in Wychwood Park, a Brampton Transit bus, and Weston Arena in northwest Toronto. The 60-year-old arena was booked in November 2009, and redressed for the fictitious history of the Brampton Blades. Filming in the arena began before sunrise to make the most of their limited ice time. McGowan wore knee-height snowmobile boots to insulate himself from the ice, while Reid noted that his feet were "chewed up" from the last two weeks of performing six hours a day in hockey skates.
Tamara Deverell served as production designer with costumes designed by Patrick Antosh. The film was edited by Roderick Deogrades to 92 minutes.
Music For most of the songs, McGowan wrote the lyrics with the music composed by Marco DiFelice. Other contributors include Marc Jordan, Hawksley Workman, Barenaked Ladies, Newton-John, and Amy Sky. DiFelice and Jody Colero supervised the film's soundtrack at Silent Joe studio. In an interview, McGowan noted that the lyrics are often "absurd" and "over the top on purpose ... tongue firmly in cheek". In most cases the lyrics are speech-sung.
The soundtrack Score: A Hockey Musical was released on 19 October 2010 with "Hockey, the Greatest Game in the Land" available as a digital single on 16 October. The soundtrack contains 21 tracks:
Portions of "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill is sung in the film by actors Reid and Gianpaolo Venuta but the song does not appear on the soundtrack.