Paperback Hero

"Your head is full of little dingle balls..." This comment (a quote from the film) is probably the most apt description of Rick Dillon, the notorious star player of the Delisle senior hockey team and womanizing key figure in the 1973 film "Paperback Hero".

Set in the desolate agricultural town of Delisle, Saskatchewan, the plot surrounds Dillon's fall from grace as a reigning sports god. Once living in a world where his actions had no consequences, he suddenly finds his vaulted throne caught in a whirlpool. The troubled standing of the team, his own declining popularity, as well as being wanted by the law after one of his numerous romantic conquests goes sour.

The only people who stand by the self-appointed "Marshal" Dillon (played by Keir Dullea) are his teammate "Pov" (John Beck) and good-hearted barmaid, Loretta (played by Elizabeth Ashley). They see the childlike innocence of Rick's "boy dreams", while seemingly oblivious to the dangers the fantasy begins to take.

The classic tragic figure, Rick's demise is cleverly symbolized by the desolate prairie setting, interspersed with scenes of vast wheat fields and abandoned farm implements. The pathos is further entrenched by Gordon Lightfoot's hit tune "If You Could Read My Mind", the performing of which is one of the highlights of the screenplay.

This film was one in a number of pioneering efforts to establish the Canadian film industry that we know today. While crude and clumsy at times, the film is pretty successful in its mandate of putting Canadian identity into the cinema. Little touches like "brown stubby" beer bottles, Foster Hewitt calling play-by-play on Saturday night hockey games and dilapidated old smoke-filled arenas make it clear this is mid-seventies Canada. The plot, while far from classic, is still pretty watchable. I would recommend it to Canadians, or anyone wanting to know more about Canadian popular culture. If you are looking for the Canadian equivalent of "Citizen Kane", well ... you'd be best to keep searching. I give "Paperback Hero" TWO STARS out of FIVE.

A little known Canadian movie about a small town hockey star that lives life thinking the world revolves around him. The nude shower scene,very risqué for it's time, is still one of the most poignant, real,raw, and honest scenes ever put to screen. Critics who felt that the movie didn't accurately depict the reality of life have never experienced life as portrayed in this movie. In fact even today there are many people who still act just like the character of Rick Dylan, a quick look into the issues that continue to occur with athletes at some US Colleges proves that. If this had been a movie made south of the border it would probably be a classic!

The movie isn't very good at any level. But it does have a nifty shower scene with Dullea and Ashley. To show how far Canadian movies have come, try seeing this and The Sweet Hereafter back to back. That is if you can get through this one.

Unbelievable stilted dialogue. Nasty misogynist ogre for leading character...not redeemable even if the character is intended to be out of step with the times. You cannot possibly award a star for the acting in the leads. My goodness, from an iconic role in 2001 to dreadfully voiced and dreadfully directed. The editing is amateurish. Yup, as good as it got in Canadian cinema in the 70s....no wait, there was Going Down the Road...try that. You 'll never get back the 90 minutes of your life wasted on this turkey. So what if Gordon Lightfoot sings a bit. I would have rather watched Gordon LIghtfoot tuning his guitar for 90 minutes.

I managed to get a VHS copy a few years back, and burned it to DVD-R for posterity.

Perhaps I'm oversimplifying by describing it as a "Canadian 'Breathless'", but I still find that the shortest good description I can come up with.

A lot less use of the Gordon Lightfoot music than I recall from years of watching it on Canadian TV, but that may just be fading memory rather than VHS music licensing problems.

I also liked 'Slipstream' http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0072181/combined more than another reviewer, but some people look at movies as dreams they'd like to be in and some look at them like they were traffic accidents, so there's always going to be disagreements...