Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Python Hyena Score: A Hockey Musical (2010): Dir: Michael McGowan / Cast: Noah Reid, Allie MacDonald, Marc Jordan, Olivia Newton-John, Stephen McHattie: Corny yet ambitious musical about not just scoring within the game of hockey, but also scoring in life itself. Noah Reid plays the newest hockey sensation whose position as a passive aggressive is put to the test. His parents brought him up to be uncompetitive but when recruited everything is tested. Director Michael McGowan succeeds largely because the theme of violence in sports is heavy. He takes a risk with this theme in terms of the gender image associated with the sport. The musical numbers are mostly lame but given an edge due too quirky visual elements and locations. Noah Reid does well with the material. He deals with his upbringing as well as his relationship with the girl next door plus the whole rule system of the sport. His handling of violence after being shamed on the ice is effective yet again, somewhat corny. Allie MacDonald plays the girl next door whom has been his friend since childhood. She plays the cello with an Italian instructor. Unfortunately Reid cannot see what viewers, and MacDonald already know. Marc Jordan and Olivia Newton-John play his overbearing religious parents. The two are too weird to take seriously. Jordan has bright glasses that do not compliment him, and although it is nice to hear Newton-John sing, she is hardly doing Grease here. What works is a strong message of fair competition and the ability to score above it all with the ever powerful embrace of a hug. Score: 7 / 10

Enchorde I never thought anybody could dream up the combination of hockey and musical. Someone did, and Score: A Hockey musical is the result. And it is mostly what you can expect of such an unlikely combination. A cheesy, mildly entertaining string of musical numbers and a story without a trace of suspense.It was rather amusing to see the on ice choreographed dances, hockey players in full gear normally doesn't do that. Some lyrics were quite good as well. Too much, however, was just cheesy and nothing but tedious clichés.That the love story couldn't produce a spark to save the movies life was the tipping point though. A fun experiment, but don't expect anyone to try anytime soon again. It just doesn't work out.Score one for conventional stories...

nigel77 Have to say some of the reviews on IMDb for Score: A Hockey Musical surprise me. The film was not written or directed to be an Oscar winning production. Score: A Hockey Musical is what it sets out to be, an over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek, cheesy comedy-musical. There is no need or pretense that the characters need to be more than one dimensional or the plot more robust, as Score is all about FUN!!! And it delivers that in spades. I saw the film for the first time last night as the closing feature for the 15th Annual Canberra Film Festival. The near capacity audience was in stitches throughout and gave it generous applause at the end.

sgor I've read a lot of reviews of this film out of its debut at TIFF, most of them negative, contrasting the film with the normal festival fare. And comparatively, no it's not an art house film, deeply layered, full of subtext or sparking deep thought later.I, however, wasn't expecting that. I was expecting a fun, corny musical about our nation's favourite past-time and that's exactly what I got. It's sweet, it made me laugh aloud several times, and I simply had a very good time watching the film.Noah Reid played the very likable male lead, Farley. He has a pleasant voice, looked natural on the ice, and nothing in his performance felt forced or fake. I hope to see him again. The best word I can think of to describe Allie MacDonald's girl-next-door character of Eve is winsome. I forgot that Stephen McHattie has done comedy before, so his turn as the owner of a pro-hockey team was surprising in how deft it is. Also enjoyable were Farley's coach and teammates, and George Stroumboulopoulos as the rink announcer.Really, the only weak link in performance was Olivia Newton-John who seemed too stiff for the character that she was portraying. And despite how great they were individually, there wasn't a lot of chemistry between Farley and Eve.The songs ran about fifty-fifty. Some were catchy and well-orchestrated. Some felt as though they had been written for an amateur musical.All-in-all, I think the movie gives you exactly what you expect when you go to see a movie called "Score: A Hockey Musical". It's enjoyable, and charming, and I would recommend it to musical and hockey fans alike.