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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Walt Disney Video
Salesrank: 2135
Released: May 9, 2000 |
| Our Price: $8.03 |
| Used Price: $5.37 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
With Russell Crowe (THE INSIDER, A BEAUTIFUL MIND), Hank Azaria (GODZILLA, THE BIRD CAGE), and Burt Reynolds leading an incredible all-star cast, here's a fun, uplifting, action-packed story that everyone will love! A remote hockey-obsessed town populated by 633 of the most eccentric characters you'd ever want to meet, Mystery is the kind of place where nothing ever changes. But then life as they know it gets turned completely upside down! When a publicity stunt brings the world-famous New York Rangers -- and the national spotlight -- to Mystery for a game with the local team of weekend warriors, the whole town rises to meet the challenge of a lifetime! Also starring Mary McCormack (TRUE CRIME, DEEP IMPACT) and Lolita Davidovich (PLAY IT TO THE BONE, JUNGLE 2 JUNGLE) in another critical favorite from the hit-making director of AUSTIN POWERS 1&2 -- you'll stand and cheer as this ragtag bunch shows that nothing can melt their dreams of a miracle on ice!
Description of Mystery, Alaska:
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.
Following the success of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Jay Roach proves to be an able director of drama, swift action, and low-key, character-driven comedy not unlike that in Benton's Nobody's Fool. He has to deal with some pure corn at the end, but Roach pulls it off and guides the actors to and through far better moments. --Tom Keogh
Mystery, Alaska Reviews:
you want family fun, look elsewhere, but for a 2 hour ride, it's alright 
2008-11-29 - Mystery Alaska is a bit of a strange movie. Even though it's about a small hockey team in a small fictional town of Alaska (called Mystery) that badly wants the opportunity to play the New York Rangers, for some reason, there's lots of comedy bits that involve punching people in the face, and sexual themes with SEVERE cuss words that make the movie entirely inappropriate for children. So this is NOT recommended for fans of the Mighty Ducks.
You also have a chilly Little Richard making an appearance, an old woman who complains a lot, cheating housewives, Russell Crowe playing with his hair (what a weird guy) and then serious stuff like the hockey team training on the ice and facing the Rangers. The movie wants you to get into the small town and absorb the feel of the people and the way they go about their lives, but it never really works because the story is supposed to be about ice hockey. So all that stuff about "who's sleeping with who" misses the mark. A decent movie, but nothing incredibly interesting.
great film, great service 
2008-08-24 - It was shipped quickly, and I really appreiciate that. Great seller. I would deffinately buy from them again.
Great family movie 
2008-07-23 - This is a great family . It has great actors and they all seem to work well together. My first copy was destroyed due to to many viewings. But,Just replaced it. It is a must see.
A MUST for Hockey Fans!!
2008-07-19 - "This is a hockey town." If you care even just a little about this sport, you must see this movie.
surprising
2008-06-11 - I wasn't going to purchase this film because as others stated it included Burt Reynolds and Russell Crowe and it was about hockey, but I happened to catch it on one of the movie channels and found that I actually enjoyed it. It's listed as a drama/comedy but there is more drama than comedy. Perhaps if there had been more comedy I would give it the full 5 stars but as I stated Mr's Reynolds and Crowe and hockey aren't my cup of tea. Still it had a lot going for it and is worth seeing.
