Mystery, Alaska

Buy This Item Mystery, Alaska by Walt Disney Video  Available from Amazon  $11.49  on 11-14-2008     With Russell Crowe (THE INSIDER, A BEAUTIFUL MIND), Hank Azaria (GODZILLA, THE BIRD CAGE), and Burt Reynolds leading an incredible all-star cast, here's a fun, uplifting, action-packed story that everyone will love! A remote hockey-obsessed town populated by 633 of the most eccentric characters you'd ever want to meet, Mystery is the kind of place where nothing ever changes. But then life as they know it gets turned completely upside down! When a publicity stunt brings the world-famous New York Rangers -- and the national spotlight -- to Mystery for a game with the local team of weekend warriors, the whole town rises to meet the challenge of a lifetime! Also starring Mary McCormack (TRUE CRIME, DEEP IMPACT) and Lolita Davidovich (PLAY IT TO THE BONE, JUNGLE 2 JUNGLE) in another critical favorite from the hit-making director of AUSTIN POWERS 1&2 -- you'll stand and cheer as this ragtag bunch shows that nothing can melt their dreams of a miracle on ice! Reader Reviews If you want to know about the great state of Alaska, just watch M. Jay Roach's Mystery, Alaska. According to this film, Alaska has the following: cold, hockey, freezing snow, adultery, bitter cold, underage sex (maybe because of the cold), and hockey. And that's just about it. Now if you're not familiar with M. Jay Roach, he's the director of the Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery/The Spy Who Shagged Me/Goldmemberfilms, so I was expecting this movie to be funnier. There are some reallly funny moments, but it made me appreciate how much the humor of Austin Powers should be attributed to Mike Myers. The director is just there to help manage things. Mystery, Alaska tries to be funny, and it manages sometimes, but it's really an ensemble romantic film tied around a Rocky story. It's no Rocky, though. That movie had real gravitas. This one has Burt Reynolds, who should, like the Rolling Stones (No Stone Unturned + 7 Bonus Tracks), quit. He's absolutely the worst part in this movie. He made me want to relive my junior high days. They were more fun than watching him. Russel Crowe is great, of course, but his acting is beside the point. He's only one small part of this larger town, and the movie doesn't focus on him, not like it should in order to be labeled a good movie. The fact is, though--I guess I should admit it--I enjoyed Mystery, Alaska. It was a feel good movie about how it's okay to live in a small town. The people in small towns are just as good as the jerks from the big cities who look down on them and call them "hicks" or even "lumberjacks" in this case. Being from a small town in South Carolina, I sympathized with that point. It made me feel warm inside. And the characters are likeable, too. I found myself caring about them. I wanted them to make good. I wanted their lives to be enjoyable. I wanted them to win their big hockey game. But these things do not a good movie make. Mystery, Alaska is, finally, enjoyable but not great. Comforting but trite. Warm but, well, freezing cold.

Mystery, Alaska Available from Amazon Price: $11.49 Updated on 11-14-2008.

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