I hadn't seen this one in years, and I'd forgotten just how much I liked it. The 25th Anniversary DVD had some interesting stuff on it.
When Paul Newman was asked what movie he most enjoyed making, his answer was "Slap Shot". When Roger Ebert was asked if he'd ever given a movie a thumbs-down and later changed his mind about it, his answer was "Slap Shot".
The best part of the movie has to be the Hanson borthers. I can just imagine that their direction was "say all of your lines all at once as loud as you can", but it works really well for them. They did quite well, considering that they're real hockey players rather than actors.
Even more remarkable is listening to the commentary on this DVD and realizing just how much of this movie is based on actual events. The fights seem so incredibly far-fetched, yet a lot of it really happened apparently. This is real old-time hockey we're talking about here, none of that pansy crap.
Plus, Lily's really cute to watch (before Francine fuglies her up), and Newman's leather suit is just damned cool.
I heartily approve of this movie, and I'm no sports fan.
Slap Shot 2, however, is an unmittigated piece of crap in comparison. Skip it, and your soul will be cleaner for never having watched it.