David E Kelley's script for Mystery, Alaska (co-authored by Sean O'Byrne) takes his Ally McBeal level of eccentricity to a geographical and spiritual extreme. The film revives the hackneyed Rocky formula, setting a lopsided hockey match within a remote, self-contained hamlet where the members of a tiny population all have to wear multiple hats and still keep neighbourly ties intact. The story concerns the town's chief source of identity and pride: so-called "Saturday games", in which local men divide into teams and play pond hockey for the locals. When a prodigal son (Hank Azaria) of Mystery shows up with a television network offer to bring the New York Rangers in for a televised match against the homegrown team, the town fathers agree. Coaching falls to the town sheriff, John Biebe (Russell Crowe), an admirable man and a long-time player recently bumped from the team. John, however, doesn't want the job: everyone knows the real coach in those parts is Judge Burns (Burt Reynolds), but he wants no part of it either. All of that changes after a sad tragedy forces everyone to revaluate their positions and pull together in order to beat the Rangers. Following the success of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Jay Roach proves to be an able director of drama, swift action and low-key, character-driven comedy not unlike that in Benton's Nobody's Fool. He has to deal with some pure corn at the end, but Roach pulls it off and guides the actors to and through far better moments. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

I'm not American, and I'm not a bloke who like's sports. In fact I am a woman who generally prefers figure-skating to Ice Hockey. And yet I loved this movie. Originally it was one of a handful of rentals in a Dvd shop that we wouldn't have bothered with if there was anything else we would have thought worth watching; and that would've been a mistake. This movie made me laugh and cry in equal measures, and I found I held my breath in the way male friends assure me they do just before their home team scores a goal a few minutes towards the end of the match. A sweet and pleasant movie, best watched a cold wet sunday whilst curled up under a blanket. Not to be missed.

Imagine putting on the skates to get to school, or to get a litre of milk. Mystery Alaska is a town all hockey players have dreamed about...
Pretty realistic hockey playing and great hockey culture.
The only negative is the excessive swearing and adultry. A must-see for hockey lovers!

This is a film that at first sounds like you average underdogs triumph predictable happy ending type film...but manages very well not to be.
About small Alaskan town 'Mystery' and how peoples lives revolve mainly around ice hockey and the sunday game. They then appear in Sports Illustrated and the New York Rangers plan to play them. With a few complications along the way the big game finally occurs with not as predictable result as expected.
Its a touching and funny film with life in the small town seen through many different characters and how they interact together.
Funny and sad, a bit of a feel-good movie for ice hockey and non sports fans alike.

As someone who does play or understand ice hockey this movie bring the fanaticism of the game of one small Alaskan town to light. It reveals the joys of playing the game and the disappointment of being withdrawn from the team due to your age rather than inability to play. Russell Crowe plays the town Sherriff John Biebe who gets bumped and then reinstated after the team are challenged by a major league team on their own pond. He plays the part convincingly without outshadowing the other players and their some complicated lives that all revolve around the Saturday Game of Pond Hockey. An all round enjoyable movie the ends on a truly exciting game of hockey which does have the usually fairytale ending. Grab a big bag of popcorn and enjoy. Well worth a second and third watch even if you hate ice hockey. Breathtaking shots of Alberta where the film was shot add to the splendour of it all.

Mystery, Alaska is great for anyone who loves Ice-Skating / Ice-Hockey, but anyone will enjoy it. It is a real "feel-good" film with some classically funny moments, with a light-hearted romance running throughout. A great film to snuggle down to on a cold winters night with the popcorn.