The Mighty Ducks

 3/4

Starring: Emilio Estevez, Lane Smith, Joshua Jackson, Heidi Kling, Joss Ackland, Josef Summer

Rated PG for Some Mild Language

If you're a Millenial like me, there are a few movies that are mementos of childhood: "The Lion King," "The Sandlot," "Clueless."  It's not a long list, and aside from "The Lion King," few are classics on par with "Casablanca" or "The Godfather."  But they struck a nerve for kids my age around that time, and were a handy go-to movie to watch during sleepovers.  "The Mighty Ducks" is one of those movies.

Gordon Bombay (Estevez) is a hotshot lawyer infamous for bending the law and for showing up his rivals.  After a big win and a personal note of congratulations from his boss, Mr. Ducksworth (Summer), he decides to celebrate...and ends up with a DUI among other charges.  Ducksworth does some magic with the judge and as punishment he has to take a leave of absence and coach peewee hockey.  Bombay would rather take jail; he was a star player with a lot of potential as a kid but one missed shot tanked everything.  Even worse, the kids on his team are uniformly awful.  But nothing fills him with more dread than the fact that his old coach, Jack Reilly (Smith), is still coaching the same team (and makes no secret that they're the best in the league or that Bombay missed the winning shot).  Only a kindly speech from Hans (Ackland), the local hockey store owner, reminds him why he played in the first place: because he loved the game.  Centered and with a new personal drive, Bombay whips the team into shape with his sights on the playoffs and personal redemption.

This story is as old as the hills.  That's fine; this is a "triumph of the underdog" story for kids, and plot originality isn't exactly a necessity.  The characters are appealing enough that we identify with them, and kids can have the fantasy that they are on a team like this.  That's what this film must get right, and it does.

Former Brat Packer Emilio Estevez does a solid job as the yuppie who grows a heart and remembers his values.  To be sure, there's little about this role that could be called difficult or challenging, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't do it well.  As good as he is, he's outshone by his co-stars Lane Smith and Joss Ackland.  Smith plays the villain as not someone who is evil or even overtly nasty.  He's just far too competitive (in the opening flashback, he tells a young Gordon Bombay that if he loses the final penalty shot of the finals, he'll let everyone down...not a good pep talk for a kid).  We all know people like him and that makes it easier to dislike him than if Smith went over the top.  As for Joss Ackland, well, he's one of those actors that you just need to put in front of a camera from him to hold the attention.  He adds some heart to the film.  The kids are uniformly fine, although ironically, they don't have much to do.  The film spends too much time covering its bases for anyone to really stick out or gain our sympathy.

"The Mighty Ducks" feels rushed.  It tries to do too much.  There's Bombay's trials at the office, his need for redemption, his romance with a kid's mom, his remembering his late father, and so on.  Director Stephen Herek has cast too wide a net.  A film with a narrower focus would have highlighted the film's strengths.  The film is also badly edited.  Many scenes end or start so quickly that the human truth becomes lost and are thus robbed of their payoff.  For instance, the scene where Bombay discovers his love of the game is over so fast that the emotional impact is not existent.  I know that this is a kid's movie, but just a few more moments of screen time would have allowed the humanity and comedy to register in the audience.

Still, it's no surprise to me why this movie is beloved.  It does what it accomplishes with enough spunk, humor and human tension to get even older viewers involved.  Even to the point where some glaring hockey errors can be overlooked (tipping a rival over the board gets you ejected from the game but checking someone from behind is acceptable.  Uh huh.).  The film is by no means a masterpiece but it has held up well.  And that's not just the nostalgia talking.

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