SLAP SHOT

US | 1977 | 35mm | 122 min.
Director: George Roy Hill
Cast: Paul Newman, Strother Martin, Michael Ontkean
In his funniest, most foul-mouthed performance, Paul Newman is Reggie Dunlop, coach and aging hockey player for the minor league Charlestown Chiefs. When the town mill announces its closing and the team faces imminent folding, Reg launches a series of crazy promotional schemes to attract interested buyers, including hiring the goonish Hanson Brothers. Nancy Dowd’s brilliantly profane script remains hilarious while also offering an incisive critique of professional sports and life in a rustbelt town. This screening of a 35mm print is presented on the eve of Paul Newman’s centennial.