Mystery, Alaska | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Jay Roach |
Produced by | David E. Kelley |
Written by | David E. Kelley Sean O'Byrne |
Starring |
Russell Crowe Burt Reynolds Colm Meaney Mary McCormack Hank Azaria Lolita Davidovich Ron Eldard Maury Chaykin |
Music by | Carter Burwell |
Cinematography | Peter Deming |
Edited by | Jon Poll |
Production
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Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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119 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $28 million |
Box office | $8,891,623 |
Mystery, Alaska is a 1999 comedy-drama film directed by Jay Roach about an amateur ice hockey team, from the fictional small-town of Mystery, that plays an exhibition game against the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. It was shot in Banff National Park and in a "town" built for the purpose outside Canmore, Alberta.
The movie is about a fictional small town in Alaska named Mystery, where hockey is the cohesive activity that unites the town. The "Saturday Game" is a weekly event of amateur four-on-four pond hockey played on the open ice of the town's frozen lake. The team consists of ten local townsmen of varying ages and occupations with two goalies and eight skaters publicly scrimmaging each other every Saturday. As there are only ten spots on the team, in order to make room on the roster for the younger up-and-coming town players an older more senior member of the team must be kicked off the team. After an article describing the town and its players appears in Sports Illustrated, a nationally televised exhibition game is scheduled between the NHL's New York Rangers and the hometown favorites in Mystery, Alaska.
Sheriff John Biebe, who is married to Donna, is one of the townsfolk who play in "the Saturday Game"—a weekly hockey game played on an open pond. The entire town, which is hockey-mad, turns out every week to watch. After the game commences, we see young Stevie Weeks in the stands, kissing Marla Burns, daughter of the town's judge. When the judge sees what is going on, he raps Stevie on the head and reprimands them both. Donna arrives with the latest edition of Sports Illustrated, which features an article on the town and the Saturday Game. The article serves also to explain the nature of the Saturday Game, as well as to introduce some of the prominent team members. It also refers to John as being "slow in the feet", but concludes with a statement that on the ability to skate, the Mystery team rivals any team in the National Hockey League (NHL).