Mystery, Alaska (1999)
The Cast
Russell Crowe .... Sheriff John Biebe
Hank Azaria .... Charles Danner
Mary McCormack .... Donna Biebe
Burt Reynolds .... Judge Walter Burns
Colm Meaney .... Mayor Scott R. Pitcher
Lolita Davidovich .... Mary Jane Pitcher
Maury Chaykin .... Bailey Pruitt
Ron Eldard .... Matt 'Skank' Marden
Ryan Northcott .... Stevie Weeks
Michael Buie .... Connor Banks
Scott Grimes .... Brian 'Birdie' Burns
Directed by the man who directed all three Austin Powers movies, Jay Roach, Mystery, Alaska was intended to be one of the ultimate David vs. Goliath sports movies of all time. A small Alaskan town has their local hockey team featured in a Sports Illustrated article written by a former local boy (Azaria). The NHL sees the article & thinks it would be a great idea if the Mystery team played the New York Rangers in an exhibition game, during the league's All Star Break.
One of the things that I really liked about this movie is that they didn't shy away from all aspects of big league sports. The NHL Players Association has a problem with the exhibition game & actually go to court to try & stop it from taking place. The local judge (Reynolds) is disgusted that a jury made a mockery of his courtroom because the accused (Buie) was the leading scorer on the team. In my opinion, it's one of the more real fantasy sports movies to ever be made.
Long-time Captain & Sheriff of Mystery, John Biebe (Crowe) is nearing the end of his playing days & he knows it. Crowe does more with this role than I think he ever did in the overrated Gladiator, showing off his heart & humour in a much more subdued fashion than the bluster of Maximus. Mary McCormack is wonderful as usual, playing the wife of Biebe as well as she played the wife of Howard Stern in Private Parts. It's a testament to her abilities as an actress that she can be winning as the wife of a multi-media superstar, & still seem believable as the wife of a relative nobody.
The supporting cast seem to be the kind of people you'd see walking around a small town; big fish in a little frozen pond. Ron Eldard brings some shining charisma to his character, the local lothario that seems to have bedded every woman in town, including Mayor Scott Pitcher's (Meaney) wife, Mary Jane (Davidovich). Azaria plays his reporter character as Big City slimeball to start, slowly slipping back into the small town underdog, regretful of his outsider status.
Even though it's a Disney-produced movie, it's not your most typical of family fare. The amount of f-bombs dropped in this one would probably make Michael Eisner soil himself, not to mention the teenage sex, adultery, & premature ejaculation! You'll find out that Stevie Weeks (Northcott) is fast at everything. Anyways, I liked Mystery, Alaska a lot, & it's probably my second favourite hockey movie of all time. For some reason, it seems to ring true to me, & I'm a big fan of the underdogs as well. 4 outta 5, because the Mike Myers cameo was an inside joke for one country of hockey fans. & not that funny of a joke to boot.