Slap Shot
Located in the US Rust Belt, Charlestown is home of the hapless Chiefs, a losing Federal League hockey team whose games are poorly attended. To make money, the team's unknown owner makes its manager, Joe McGrath, do cheesy publicity much to the players' chagrin. Rumors abound among the players that if the local mill closes, the team will fold. Just before the official announcement is made, the team's aging player/coach, Reggie Dunlop, does get wind that the mill is indeed closing and that this season will be the team's last. Beyond efforts to reconcile with his wife Francine, who loves Reggie but doesn't love his career, Reggie begins to focus on how to renew interest in the team for a possible sale as he knows if the team folds, his hockey career is over. Without telling anyone of his plan, he begins a rumor that the owner is negotiating a sale with a city in Florida. He also decides that "goon" hockey - most especially using the untapped talents of the recently acquired childlike but quietly menacing Hanson brothers - is the way to renew local interest. It works as the team begins to attract new fans, sell out games, sell out away games attended largely by their groupies, and win, which does fuel the rumor of a sale. The one team member who doesn't like this new style is Ned Braden, a college graduate who plays the game solely because he loves it. His hockey career is against the wishes of his tomboyish wife, Lily, who hates everything about Charlestown and being a hockey wife. Reggie's goal of winning the league championship and having the team sold takes a turn when he finally meets the team's owner and discovers the owner's motivations. Ned, with his own views of what is right and wrong in hockey, may come up with an unexpected way to achieve all their goals.
Despite its small-scale budget of $6.0M, Slap Shot became a commercial success, earning $28.0M worldwide—a 367% return. The film's compelling narrative found its audience, showing that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
1 win & 3 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Slap Shot (1977) exhibits carefully calibrated narrative design, characteristic of George Roy Hill's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 10-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 3 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.1, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Reggie Dunlop surveys a near-empty arena as the Charleston Chiefs play to an apathetic crowd. The team is losing, the town doesn't care, and everyone knows the mill—and the team—are dying.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when Reggie learns the mill is closing and the team will fold at season's end. His playing career, coaching job, and the town's identity are all about to disappear. The status quo becomes untenable.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The Collapse moment at 92 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, All is lost: Reggie discovers there is no Florida sale—the team will fold regardless of championship victory. His entire strategy, lies, and moral compromises were for nothing. The "whiff of death" is the death of hope and purpose., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 99 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. The championship game: the opposing Syracuse team tries to goad them into violence, but Reggie attempts to play clean hockey. When the goons won't stop, Ned—the principled holdout—does a striptease on ice, turning the violence into absurdist comedy and reclaiming dignity through subversion., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Slap Shot's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 10 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Slap Shot against these established plot points, we can identify how George Roy Hill utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Slap Shot within the comedy genre.
George Roy Hill's Structural Approach
Among the 5 George Roy Hill films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.1, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Slap Shot takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete George Roy Hill filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more George Roy Hill analyses, see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The World According to Garp and The Sting.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Reggie Dunlop surveys a near-empty arena as the Charleston Chiefs play to an apathetic crowd. The team is losing, the town doesn't care, and everyone knows the mill—and the team—are dying.
Theme
A reporter asks what makes a good hockey player. Reggie deflects with humor, but the question lingers: what does it take to win, and what's worth sacrificing? The film's central tension between dignity and desperation is planted.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to the failing Charleston Chiefs: aging players, empty stands, a disinterested owner, marital problems, and the arrival of the strange Hanson Brothers. The economic depression of the rust belt town mirrors the team's decline.
Disruption
Reggie learns the mill is closing and the team will fold at season's end. His playing career, coaching job, and the town's identity are all about to disappear. The status quo becomes untenable.
Resistance
Reggie debates what to do: accept defeat gracefully or fight dirty to save the team. He plants a false newspaper story about the team being sold to Florida to boost morale and attendance, beginning his descent into manipulation and gimmicks.
Act II
ConfrontationPremise
The promise of the premise: outrageous violent hockey as entertainment. The Chiefs become notorious, attendance soars, they start winning. Reggie manipulates media, players brawl spectacularly, and the team becomes a traveling freak show that people pay to watch.
Opposition
The pressure intensifies as they fight toward the championship. Reggie's personal life crumbles, his marriage fails, and the moral compromises weigh heavier. Ned's breaking point approaches as the team descends further into brutality and spectacle over sport.
Collapse
All is lost: Reggie discovers there is no Florida sale—the team will fold regardless of championship victory. His entire strategy, lies, and moral compromises were for nothing. The "whiff of death" is the death of hope and purpose.
Crisis
Dark night: Reggie faces the meaninglessness of it all. The championship game looms, but winning means nothing now. He must decide what kind of man he is when victory is hollow. Ned's principled stand haunts him.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
The championship game: the opposing Syracuse team tries to goad them into violence, but Reggie attempts to play clean hockey. When the goons won't stop, Ned—the principled holdout—does a striptease on ice, turning the violence into absurdist comedy and reclaiming dignity through subversion.