Russell Crowe - The Prose & the Passion

Mystery, Alaska

Filmed - Jan 26, 1998 – April 18, 1998

Category:	Comedy
Director:	Jay Roach
Cast:	Russell Crowe, Hank Azaria, Mary McCormack, Lolita Davidovich, Burt Reynolds, Ron Eldard, Colm Meaney
Release Date:	October 01, 1999
Running Time:	1 hr 59 mins
Rating:	R
Studio:	Buena Vista Pictures
Trailer:	QuickTime \| RealVideo \| Don't Know
Official Site:	http://www.movies.go.com/m...

Mystery is a tiny little burg on the edge of the tundra, where hockey is religion, release & righteous fun all rolled into one. When someone has the bright idea of pitting the local heroes against the New York Rangers in a promotional deal, the citizens are a little wary

When it comes to the subject of community, David E. Kelley--the prolific writer-producer behind television's The Practice and Ally McBeal--falls somewhere on a continuum between directors Howard Hawks and Robert Benton. While Hawks's professional characters are bound by a knowledge of how to do what they do even if they don't know why, Benton's people, professional or not, have long ago substituted their own eccentric reasons for that elusive why. Thus we get the kind of in-house, oddball rituals sandwiched between passages of actual work on Ally, and the affectionately entangled personal and professional ties between small-town folks in Kelley's earlier TV series Picket Fences.

Kelley's script for Mystery, Alaska (co-authored by Sean O'Byrne) takes that level of eccentricity to a geographical and spiritual extreme. The film revives the hackneyed Rocky formula, setting a lopsided hockey match within a remote, self-contained hamlet where the members of a tiny population all have to wear multiple hats and still keep neighborly ties intact. The story concerns the town's chief source of identity and pride: so-called "Saturday games," in which local men divide into teams and play pond hockey for the locals. When a prodigal son (Hank Azaria) of Mystery shows up with a television network offer to bring the New York Rangers in for a televised match against the homegrown team, the town fathers agree. Coaching falls to the town sheriff, John Biebe (Russell Crowe), an admirable man and a longtime player recently bumped from the team. John, however, doesn't want the job: everyone knows the real coach in those parts is Judge Burns (Burt Reynolds), but he wants no part of it either. All of that changes after a sad tragedy forces everyone to reevaluate their positions and pull together in order to beat the Rangers.

Mystery, Alaska is a very good, wholesome movie. A little bit of something for everyone here! Russell plays a small town sheriff, and also the informal captain of his town's pond hockey team. Mystery may seem like your ordinary little town, until you are confronted with the inhabitants tangible love for hockey. People live and die hockey here!

Russell's character, John Biebe, seems to have it all. A loving wife (played by perky Mary McCormack), a great job, and of course, hockey. All of this is threatened by the return of Chuckie, played by Hank Azaria. Chuckie could never cut it as a hockey player, so he moved out of Mystery. Ironically, he has now written an article for Sports Illustrated about his hometown team. He manages to set up a game between Mystery and the New York Rangers hockey teams. John is bumped from the team to make way for the "new hot young player." He is relegated to the coaching position. He tells everyone he is okay with this-but obviously is not. In addition, John's wife used to date Chuckie, and seems to be feeling a little restless in her marriage to John.

After many mishaps, John gets back on the team, Mystery plays the Rangers, and he reconciles with his wife. A very good cast here, with Ron Eldard from ER fame, Scott Grimes from Party of Five, Hank Azaria of Godzilla, and Burt Reynolds of countless Smokey and the Bandit flicks. I thought this was a good family movie, with just enough plot and heart to keep a smile on your face.