This is a really hard one for me. On one hand, I enjoyed the story of a mob run hockey team with an Eminem-looking wannabe 18-year-old as their GM. On the other hand, it's hard to really praise it because all in all, they were a dirty team controlled by dirty money and was owned by a pretty dangerous mobster.
This is the stuff of Hollywood, and it makes sense to bring in The Sopranos angle. Much like the television show, in spite of the reprehensible characters and story lines, a lot of people did like the show. I will say this about the documentary....it was interesting and a lot of interesting people participated. We got to see much of the story from the hockey team's perspective, which I think was a fine angle to take on. I know, the Galante's are not people we should be worshipping, but on the other hand the story was more about the abject oddity of a team that had the gravitas to call themselves "Trashers." In all honesty, the FBI investigation would have been an excellent companion documentary to go with this.
I'm not gonna lie, I wish this was more like the great documentary "The Two Escobars." While we did see the bad side of Pablo Escobar, we also saw how he manipulated communities to love him. I wish they had explored that more with the Galante's, for clearly the primary motive for the team was not necessarily for entertainment purposes. The fact that a goofball like A. J. Galante built a good team was something of a miracle (of course mob money really helped).
However, if they had pushed the darker side of the story a little harder and maybe asked the players some tougher questions, this could have been a higher rated. But my logical brain thinks this....these guys would have never said a bad thing anyway. The underlying truth this documentary really presented (which was more implied on the periphery) is that money ultimately buys loyalty. Considering the current affairs in this country right now, it does not take a rocket scientist to know these guys would never say an ill word. While the integrity of the film will be put into question, were you not at least entertained?
Nothing will ever go without an argument these days. I see it for what it is and integrity in desperate times will always be thrown out the door. But it was a strange story, and if you want more than do your own version or write a book. And believe me, I will watch that dissenting opinion anyway even though I pretty much side with you.
I know, I sound like I am fence sitting but unfortunately that is the way it is with some stories. My only thing is I wish those involved had gotten bigger sentences. I mean, you did years of work for a 7-year sentence? If anything it shows our criminal justice system has an uneven alliance with power and money. I will end it on this....those people from Section 102 are scary!!
