Sweden has bus leagues. Who knew? Well … Swedes, I suppose. The rest of us get introduced to Bull Durham on ice in Odd Man Rush, the biographic (?) tale of an American trying to hide and stick out at the same time. What is life if not a neverending contradictory battle?
To be honest, I think Bobby (Jack Mulhern) should have stopped playing hockey. My rule of thumb is no matter how much you love the game, the game has to love you back. Talented or no, Bobby had gotten to the point where injuries were dictating his career. Instead of calling it quits, however, the kid took his Madison Square Garden dreams from Manhattan to somewhere between Gothenburg and the Arctic Circle. Sure. Why not? What scout isn’t poring over the Swedish minor leagues? Bottom line, however, is Bobby is living a hockey life; does it really matter where that life takes place?
Enter Elin (Elektra Kilbey), a Swede who “mistakes” his profession as soccer. They’re cute, cuz she’s sharp and he’s sharp. She already knows English, of course, as most Swedes do. What I adored was that Bobby insisted upon learning Swedish. Think about that. He’s American and he’s trying to play well enough to get back to North America permanently. And yet, something about him wanted to learn a language he might not use ever again in three weeks. Was it for the girl? I don’t think so. I think it was a humble acceptance of circumstance and humility.
And I dare you not to like Bobby … or Elin … or the coach who calls Bobby “Shithead,” or the locker room full of decent fellas…not clichés or testosterone freaks – just guys who like playing ice hockey. I’m selling Odd Man Rush short. This film, and the romance in it, is kind of adorable, perhaps precisely because everything seemed low-key. There’s no mad obsession here to defy odds or thwart an unbeatable opponent. It’s an American guy in Sweden learning how to be Swedish and falling for a native … and having a smile-worthy adventure in the process. Sometimes films don’t need to “wow” you; they just need to make you smile.
One of the greatest problems of media in general is the glaring need to set up conflict. Without conflict, it is theorized, you’ll lose your audience. This theory isn’t wrong. Without conflict, you will certainly lose a portion of your
audience; look at how much work Fox has to go to in order generate the conflict, the hate, their audience needs to see – Mr. Potato Head? Dr. Seuss? Geez, if you guys didn’t hate, you’d just shrivel and die. There are many topics in which conflict must be generated. Team sports is often, surprisingly, one of them – you would think a venue which constantly requires winners and losers would naturally generate heroes and villains. And, yes, hockey does create such, but in essence there are just locker rooms filled with people on a team … and the team goals all tend to be the same no matter which locker room you’re in. Villainy has less to do with actual personality than the color you wear on the ice.
Odd Man Rush is reflection on this muted understanding of conflict. I think one of my favorite moments in the film is when a giant brawl breaks out on the ice and the players all choose combatants like dance partners. Our hero Bobby realizes he’s alone on the dance floor and the one untaken opponent is the biggest bully in the league. Bobby gulps and ever so hesitantly drops the gloves and raises the fists. “No. Don’t do that,” the bully evenly discourages. And they just talk. There’s no conflict. No villainy. No good v. evil. In this moment surrounded by teammates fighting like contracts are riding on it, there are just two guys who want to reach the NHL by playing the game right. Fighting isn’t on their menu. Conflict isn’t on their menu. And it’s the best moment in the entire film. I honestly wish more films, more entertainment, understood this. While conflict is a great way of generating entertainment, it isn’t a necessity.
One man’s path to the NHL is narrow
And it leads where weather chills the marrow
‘Tis a shame there’s no order
Of ice hockey ‘neath our border
Where a hat trick could include a sombrero
Not Rated, 85 Minutes
Director: Doug Dearth
Writer: Bill Keenan, Doug Dearth
Genre: Hockey, the nice kind
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: The minor league empathetic
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Those with no taste for “slice of life”
