Join us for a very special episode of Cinematic Underdogs where we welcome Warren P. Sonoda, the director of one of the funniest sports comedies you have probably never heard of: The Puck Hogs!
The Puck Hogs is not only a well-constructed sports film, but also a criminally underrated hockey flick that should be required viewing for anyone who has ever laced up a pair of skates inside a musty, sweaty locker room in an aging hockey rink. From its savvy script to its energetic style and pace to its DIY heart, there is so much to like about The Puck Hogs. Sonoda's use of the handheld camera and minimal lighting techniques make the movie’s dingy settings — the strip clubs, dive bars, and rundown hockey rinks — feel like something you might find in any town where over-the-hill degenerates hang out and nurse their aches after a beer-league tournament. Utilizing a clever mockumentary framing device that creates a pseudo-anthropological angle into the silly subject matter, Sonoda, along with the writer Eric Lunsky, work wonders: conveying the raw and unabashed humor that comprises this groups’ shared ethos so genuinely that it earns The Puck Hogs a spot on our “first line” of go-to hockey movies.
The film’s ragtag group of over-the-hill yet lovable losers are perfectly constructed characters that seamlessly occupy the film's dingy settings. Each player on the team is idiosyncratic, painfully ordinary, and flawed. They all struggle with everyday problems (well, sort of), ranging from psychological impediments (a phobia of Girl Scouts and chasing pucks into the corner boards), to failed relationships (with the captain’s fiancé marrying the villainous Lance after a hockey tournament made him tardy to his wedding ceremony), to infertility (and the struggles of copulating whenever a wife’s hormonal watch detector goes off), to unsavory careers (an ophthalmologist who wants to be a porn director), to inept children (a Russian goalie who is distraught over his son’s flawed goalie technique). Yet, despite all of these obstacles, neuroticism, and setbacks, the Puck Hogs still find a way to fall ass-backwards into the tournament championship. Don’t let the prospect of a happy ending scare you away though — this movie isn’t in any way filled with sappy, feel-good, underdog cliches (At least not without a wink and sense of irony!). Instead of asking the Puck Hogs players’ to elevate above their immature obsession with holding onto juvenile habits, the film wholeheartedly celebrates the futile absurdity of their vulgar and puerile antics.
Due to tight schedules, Warren literally Zoom-bombs us at the 33-minute mark (so jump ahead if you prefer to get right to the juicy conversation at the center of this episode). Talking about everything from the current state of Canadian cinema in the world where imperialistic streaming giants rule the game, to hanging out in a Vegas suite with Flava Flav, Lou Diamond Phillips, and MC Hammer, to shooting The Puck Hogs in under two weeks, Warren constantly emanates undiluted enthusiasm and love for the world of independent filmmaking. His resume is insanely prolific, and his passion always shines through in whatever he does. To hear him elaborate on his career and share some funny anecdotes and backstories was a pure pleasure, and we are confident you will enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoying recording it!
