Odd Man Rush is the Swedish Moneyball that Bennett Miller never made. Adapted from the book by Bill Keenan, it throws in elements of High Fidelity and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, alongside a disarming performance from Jack Mulhern as Bobby. Trading on culture clash comedy staples, and an eccentric cast of Scandinavian character actors, Odd Man Rush is also elevated by gentle romcom vibes. Trading on roles in Shantaram opposite Charles Hannum, and the underrated anthology series Tales from the Loop on Prime Video in her back pocket, Elecktra Gilbey also makes more of her minor role as Elin than audiences might expect. Turning this low-key character study slash rite of passage melodrama into something more endearing.
Not that Jack Mulhern is without high-end credits of his own including roles on HBO’s Mare of Easttown and Netflix’s Painkiller. His easy charm and flawless fourth wall work, keep this character driven ice hockey dramedy on track without drifting too close to cliche. However, it takes more than two solid performances to make a movie, and Odd Man Rush would have benefitted from a little more drama to counterbalance those romcom elements. Oddball, eclectic, and off kilter might take this film so far, but unfortunately it rarely aims to raise the stakes any higher.
Locker room banter, ice hockey in-jokes, and a laid-back Scandinavian vibe may remind audiences of Coen classics like Raising Arizona, but Odd Man Rush rarely reaches those levels of originality. The script is solid, and momentum is never a problem, but players being traded or cut from a minor league team is not enough, irrespective of who inhabits those roles. It feels like there is a great movie always just inches away over the next ridge, scuppered by limitations other than ambition.
Image Courtesy of Good You Productions LLC
There is comedy here, but it comes between the cracks of character moments. The temporary nature of professional ice hockey has been away from cinema screens since Paul Newman’s Slapshot, apart from The Mighty Ducks franchise that took a completely different approach. Odd Man Rush may need more Newman and less Estevez in the mix, but honestly, shares most in common with John Hughes and John Cusack for all that fourth wall work and those affable central performances.
Make no mistake though, Odd Man Rush is a good movie. It might not reinvent the wheel or redefine audience expectations, but there is something honest and wholesome wrapped up in the DNA. Jack Mulhern is the perfect everyman to carry this film, and demonstrates just the right level of self-awareness. That wholesome undertone is aided and abetted by Elektra Kilbey, and between them they possess a unique screen presence and pitch perfect chemistry.
However, despite their best efforts, Odd Man Rush remains stuck in the middle lane. A sporting movie that plays it safe and keeps emotional investment on the back burner, and rarely allows pathos onto the playing field. Delivering a film that seems to consciously conceal its untapped potential and may leave some audiences wanting as a result.
Odd Man Rush is available to stream now.