Odd Man Rush (2020)

(On Cable TV, May 2021) As a Canadian, I’m more or less morally obligated to watch hockey movies. Odd Man Rush is a bit of a weird one in that it takes place almost entirely outside Canada, but was co-produced in Canada and deals with topics that are of passing familiarity with many Canadians — the grind of the minor-league players who enjoy the sport, who are relatively good at it, and yet will never make it to the big leagues. They only have so many years before reality catches up to them, and Odd Man Rush, in describing how an American finds himself in Europe playing in lower-tier leagues, tackles that moment of realization that, beyond the thrill of playing on the ice, everything eventually ends. Based on a book telling minor-league player Bill Keenan’s autobiography about playing hockey in Europe (adapted to the screen by the author himself), the film lets go of sports tropes to focus on the sometimes-dramatic, sometimes-comic, sometimes-romantic aspect of living life far away from the spotlights. The film has the qualities and vices of its virtues — it’s a heartfelt kind of movie, but one that doesn’t deal in big drama either. It ends on a whimper, and its low-budget production from a first-time screenwriter means that you won’t find much in terms of soaring dialogue or transcendent directing: it’s very much a by-the-numbers affair, a down-tempo escapade from more triumphant fare. That’s not necessarily bad, but viewers may be forewarned about the gear shift if they’re expecting Odd Man Rush to be more in-line with hockey movie expectations.