Mighty Ducks 2
Mike Gries
Mighty Ducks 2: So much to love. This movie so gleefully plays by the formula. It's as if the team that made this were writing an artistic suicide note. It's as if they refused to put on ounce of their beings into this one -- not one iota of their collective head or heart. The result plays like a satire, if you didn’t know better. First, you got your Bless the Beasts and Children-type usual suspects making up the team: The fat kid, the bespecaled nerd, the lil’ Asian kid, the tomboy, the token black with his supporting posse in the stands. What’s better is that the ridiculousness of the ubiquitous rainbow coalition-cum-sports team is highlighted in this case behind the backdrop of Junior Hockey, a sport more white than the Lawrence Welk Hour. I was actually shocked that they refrained from having a Chippewa in a wheelchair playing goalie.
Other great aspects of the movie include a stirring speech by the lovable old man, the Pavlovian-response inducing soundtrack of "We Will Rock You’s" and "We are the Champions" accompanied by a number of John Teshian musical bits, a dramatic jersey-change scene, a second quarter dejection and insurmountable 3 goal deficit, and one jaded former star actor as the lead. Emileo Esteves was the lead in Repo Man. Seeing him here with his big swooping pompadour and "what are you gonna do with these wacky kids" smile, well, its almost too much. This movie is a beauty.