Les Pee-Wee 3D: L?hiver qui a chang? ma vie
Two-and-a-half stars out of five
Starring: Antoine Olivier Pilon, R?mi Goulet, Alice Morel-Michaud, Normand Daneau, Guy Nadon, Claude Legault, Sophie Pr?gent
Directed by: ?ric Tessier
Running time: 120 minutes
Parental guidance: for all.
Opens Friday, Dec. 21 with English subtitles at: Forum cinema. Opens Friday, Dec. 21 in French at: Angrignon, Beaubien, Boucherville, Brossard, Cin?ma Carnaval, Colossus, Deux Montagnes, Dorion, Lacordaire, Longueuil, March? Central, Pont Viau, Quartier Latin, St-Bruno, St-Eustache, StarCit? and Taschereau cinemas.
The timing couldn?t be better for a movie about peewee hockey. With the National Hockey League idiotically mired in its seemingly endless lockout, folks ?round these parts who are starved for a little puck action will be able to get their fix from Les Pee-Wee 3D: L?hiver qui a chang? ma vie, director ?ric Tessier?s charming family film about a peewee team that heads to Quebec City for a major tournament.
Is it the great Qu?b?cois hockey movie? No ? that would be Fran?ois Bouvier?s inspired 1999 film Histoires d?hiver, which doesn?t get the props it deserves. But nor is Les Pee-Wee anywhere near the bust that was Pour toujours, les Canadiens, the ill-fated 2009 film designed to help celebrate the Habs? equally ill-fated 100th anniversary.
Les Pee-Wee is a modest little sports movie, a heart-warming piece that features some good performances from the teen actors, a lot of nifty on-ice drama and a nice, uplifting message about pulling together as a team. OK, so it?s not reinventing anything, but you?d have to be a real Grinch to not get caught up in this hockey party.
Janeau (Antoine Olivier Pilon) and his dad, Carl (Normand Daneau), have moved to a new home in a small town just outside Montreal following the death of Janeau?s mother, and it?s clear from the get-go that relations are mighty strained between them. One of the first kids Janeau meets in his new hometown is the irrepressible Julie (Alice Morel-Michaud), who plays goalie for the local peewee team.
She tells her new pal to come along to join the team ? which creates a little tension, given that she neglected to tell coach Mike Boulanger (Guy Nadon) about this recruit. But once the coach sees Janeau?s Lafleur-esque ballet moves on the ice, he stops his grumbling.
But the arrival of the new star doesn?t sit as well with team captain Joey (R?mi Goulet), who proceeds to do everything he can to try to ensure Janeau doesn?t succeed.
There isn?t much more to it than that. The hockey sequences are terrific ? although those of us who spend a lot of time watching real-life peewee hockey are left wondering how come these kids play better than any 11- or 12-year-old we?ve ever seen.
The one hiccup is the 3D. The film was shot in 2D and then transferred to three dimensions in the post-production process, and it doesn?t give much added value, unless your idea of a good time involves pucks appearing to fly in your face every few minutes. (That actually made me a little jumpy.)
Pilon ? who also starred in Frisson des collines ? makes Janeau totally believable, Goulet is pretty good as his archrival, and Morel-Michaud is almost impossibly likable as the strong-willed Julie.
bkelly@montrealgazette.com
Twitter: @brendanshowbiz
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