The movie Goon is about a young male bouncer named Doug Glatt, a seemingly dim individual with no true goal in life. Contrasting with his Jewish family of doctors and other such professionals, Doug excels at beating people up and taking beatings. During a hockey game, Doug becomes involved in an altercation, drawing a fair amount of attention to his fighting ability. Thus begins his journey to become a minor league hockey champion, on the team specifically to drop the proverbial hammer. Heartbreak and heated rivalry are matched with brilliant comedy in what is among my favorite movies. However, I believe Goon has more going on under the surface; it's an allegory for life, man.
Doug, at the beginning of Goon, is much like many his age; directionless and simply existing. Making a comfortable living for a bachelor, he took things one day at a time. Beating up a guy in the alley one day, tossing out drunks the next, life was routine. Stagnation isn't nearly the worst thing to happen in life in itself, but when weeks slip by with nothing remarkable to break the rut, life can seem pretty damn gloomy. An overbearing stormcloud which one can grow quite used to, truly, it can become all one knows. Arguments can be made to the point of life being boring by nature, craving excitement at all times may truly be selfish.
Doug knew who he was. His family is ripe with success, even if Doug was a few cards shy of a full deck he would still likely be able to attend college if he chose to. Had he chose to attend college it's likely he would have dropped out. College was not right for him and he understood that on some level. Why try to force yourself to be something you're not? You'll either drop the act and have wasted your own time or live a full long life of misery, having wasted all your time. Doug wanted to bounce, so he bounced.
What Doug did in life, he did well. He was a loyal bouncer to the bar owner, beating people in the back alley, apologizing between punches, explaining it's just the job. Closer to the end of the film, in a make or break hockey game, Doug uses his face to block a slap shot on the team's goal. Not only did he bust his face from the puck alone, the opposition showed no remorse in trying to score until the buzzer, smashing his face more and even stepping on him with their skates. Dedication like that may not even exist in the real world, but we can still strive for it. Doug never truly lost a fight--even if he lost many teeth, he always finished the job.
Doug Glatt gave his everything for his team, putting his life on the line and never asking for praise in return. Many times through the movie he comments on this, chalking it up as just part of the job. A conversation with a rival "goon", truly the main antagonist of the movie, became my favorite scene in the movie. In a one-on-one setting with no real hostility, the two talk about their role, where Doug's rival, having been playing for years, tells him that there is no glory, that fans stop caring as soon as they stop fighting. Doug is unphased, never caring about the fame or the glory.
By the end of Goon , Doug really never changed. A wild story in a generally boring life, sure, he gets the girl, but not much changes in his life in the grand scheme. He made friends, had one hell of a ride, and presumably faded into obscurity. That's life, really. We do a whole lot of boring stuff with some fun stuff sprinkled in, but in the end none of it really matters. For better or worse, it just is. All you can really do is your best, even if your best is fighting.
