Great Character: Reggie Dunlop (“Slap Shot”)
This month’s Great Character theme: Sports figures. Today: Jason Cuthbert’s guest post features Reggie Dunlop from the 1977 movie Slap Shot [written by Nancy Dowd].
When it comes to endearing sports characters in the vast wonderland of movies, you can’t slide past the frozen cool charisma exuded by Paul Newman as the minor league hockey player/coach Reggie Dunlop in
Slap Shot. This hysterical 1977 comedy was directed by George Roy Hill, who is re-teaming with Newman after some awe-inspiring collaborations such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting. The fact that Newman has publicly claimed Slap Shot as his favorite film to make speaks volumes considering his career also includes Cool Hand Luke, The Hustler, Torn Curtain with Alfred Hitchcock, and an Oscar-winning performance in Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money.
Slap Shot plot summary from IMDB:
A failing ice hockey team finds success using constant fighting and violence during games.
Screenwriter Nancy Dowd actually wrote Slap Shot based on her brother Ned Dowd’s real life minor league hockey experience playing for the Johnstown Jets in Pennsylvania. Ned played Ogie Ogilthorpe in the film and the blood-thirsting “Hanson Brothers” are based on Ned’s teammates Steve, Jack and Jeff Carlson — with Jeff and Steve actually playing two of the Hanson’s during production. Nancy Dowd definitely did something right with her profanity-fused locker room camaraderie comedy because film critic Roger Ebert’s famed cohort Gene Siskel considered his not so hot initial review of Slap Shot one of his biggest career mistakes after loving it more with subsequent viewings.
Paul Newman brought his A-game charm to the ice, playing equal parts manipulative sour loser and loyal, all-or-nothing winner. He gives Dunlop that certain effortless spark that garners equal admiration from the fairer sex as well as the most rugged man’s man. Even though Reggie Dunlop is purposely amping up the savage blood sport element of hockey for popularity and simultaneously lying to his teammates about a potential buyer for their soon-to-be-defunct squad — you root for him just the same. Reggie is not above verbally scolding his team’s current owner Joe McGrath (Strother Martin) for the greater good of his fellow goons and goal getters.
McGRATH: I got a good deal on those boys. The scouts said they showed a lot of promise.
REGGIE: They brought their fuckin’ TOYS with ‘em!
McGRATH: Well, I’d rather have em playin with their toys than playin with themselves
REGGIE: They’re too dumb to play with themselves. Boy, every piece of garbage that comes into the market and you gotta buy it!
Even when Reggie is no longer skating on thin ice with his lie of a new potential owner — he goes the extra mile on the road less traveled to snatch the gritty details from McGrath — compromising positions are not off limits.
REGGIE: And remember I went up to your room afterwards and you were dressed in chick’s clothes? Yeah, you had on this black bra with tassels! You were dancing in front of a mirror with this kinda zebra skin jockstrap.
McGRATH: Bitch!
REGGIE: Remember how I screamed at you when you started coming on to me? And I just said ‘Jesus stop it Joe, I’m ashamed of you!’
McGRATH: Goddamn you.
REGGIE: I wanted to tell you I forgot the whole thing. Years have passed, now I’m sexually liberated. I don’t care who’s a fag no more. I mean who cares? It’s natural, it’s all around us.
REGGIE: Who’s the owner Joe?
Reggie’s own marriage could not withstand his unconditional love affair with hockey, so naturally his manipulations make their way to mocking an apposing player whose wife apparently “plays for both teams.”
I love this movie. And per the current parlance in Hollywood, Newman just crushed the role of Reggie Dunlop.
Thanks to Jason for today’s post. Join us in comments for a conversation about Slap Shot.
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