Funded in part by the Canadian government film funding agency Telefilm Canada (which usually has no clue as to what movies would appeal to a mass audience), "Score: A Hockey Musical" was one of the few Canadian movies to get a theatrical release in Canada as large as a Hollywood movie. It was a disaster at the box office, no doubt because of the obvious fact that the premise - a hockey musical - sounded so stupid. So the movie instantly had one strike against it. But after watching the movie, more problems are evident, including:
(1) The central figure of the movie, the sheltered teenager who becomes a big hockey star overnight, is a really bland and colorless individual. In fact, ALL the characters in this movie are shallow.
(2) The central story of the movie is just a bunch of clichés we have seen countless times before, like the hero's female "best friend" who has a crush on him but he doesn't realize it etc. etc. etc.
(3) The songs. ALL of the songs sound completely alike! That's bad enough, but what makes them even worse are the lyrics that sound like they were the first thing that popped into the songwriters' minds instead of being carefully polished, the awkward way the singers jam in extra words in a desperate attempt to say everything they want, plus the fact that none of the cast (except for Olivia Newton-John) is able to sing.
(4) The cinematography. A light-hearted musical should be bright and colorful. Not this movie - it has the Canadian trademark of photography that is dark and murky.
Maybe this would have worked as a two minute coming attractions spoof done for a sketch comedy TV show. But as a feature film, it is deadly. I'm glad I didn't pay to see this movie!
(1) The central figure of the movie, the sheltered teenager who becomes a big hockey star overnight, is a really bland and colorless individual. In fact, ALL the characters in this movie are shallow.
(2) The central story of the movie is just a bunch of clichés we have seen countless times before, like the hero's female "best friend" who has a crush on him but he doesn't realize it etc. etc. etc.
(3) The songs. ALL of the songs sound completely alike! That's bad enough, but what makes them even worse are the lyrics that sound like they were the first thing that popped into the songwriters' minds instead of being carefully polished, the awkward way the singers jam in extra words in a desperate attempt to say everything they want, plus the fact that none of the cast (except for Olivia Newton-John) is able to sing.
(4) The cinematography. A light-hearted musical should be bright and colorful. Not this movie - it has the Canadian trademark of photography that is dark and murky.
Maybe this would have worked as a two minute coming attractions spoof done for a sketch comedy TV show. But as a feature film, it is deadly. I'm glad I didn't pay to see this movie!