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Mystery, Alaska| Director: | Jay Roach | | Writers: | David E. Kelley and Sean O'Byrne | | Hollywood Pictures; 118 minutes: R | | Release: | 10/99 | | Cast: | Russel Crowe, Hank Azaria, Mary McCormack |
Mystery, Alaska is a tiny town where the men play hockey and cheat on women and don't do much else. Former Mystery man Charles Danner (Azaria) writes a story about the town's hockey tradition for Sports Illustrated and creates a media flurry that pits the ragtag home team against the New York Rangers. The film proceeds with a Northern Exposure feel, mingling Mystery's idiosyncratic citizenry in a well-done series of episodes that lead up to the inevitable face-off versus the outside world. The pleasant rural folk include Russell Crowe as an aging player and the team's spiritual backbone. The people of Mystery are portrayed with a sense of community and nuance that keeps the movie fresh. Enough hockey knowledge is flaunted to please fans without alienating others, adding up to a solid sports film far less maudlin than many in the genre.
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