Anyone that watched HBO's superlative "Broad Street Bullies" documentary witnessed the grand tradition of the Philadelphia Flyers mingling with fans as some South Jersey dive bar after games.
(A tradition that, with advent of cell phone cameras and social media, is probably D.O.A. in 2011.)
Director/comedy god Judd Apatow apparently understands that when you put the Flyers in a bar setting it's going to make for good entertainment. So in his "Knocked Up" sequel "This Is Forty," which follows the characters of Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, he wanted two things: a scene with hockey players in a bar, and a dude with fake teeth they could use as a prop.
Enter Ian Laperriere.
The Flyers forward and current Masterton Trophy holder was cast in the film and enlisted teammates Scott Hartnell, Matt Carle and James van Riemsdyk for a cameo in the film. From Philly.com's Dan Gross (via Sportsnewser)
The guys portray hockey players who hit up a bar after a game and end up dancing and somehow playing with Lappy's false teeth. "I made a fool of myself, but it was fun," Lappy told us yesterday. "I like to try different things."
Laperriere admits that he was the worst dancer of the group, with Carle a close second, but that "JVR and Hartsy had some moves."
And the legend of JVR grows. Jersey, represent.
Where will these performances fall in the pantheon of NHL players on film? Let's discount any cameos in hockey films ? no "Youngblood" or "Sudden Death," which most certainly is a hockey film. We're talking hockey players in non-hockey films, such as:
Cam Neely as "Seabass" in "Dumb and Dumber" (and others): The Brando of hockey players as actors, able to channel menace in the diner and brooding longing later in a bathroom stall.
Brendan Shanahan as a state trooper in "Me, Myself and Irene": Another Farrelly Bros. comedy, another power forward gotta eat.
Marty McSorley as Mack the Co-Pilot in "Con Air" and "henchman" in "Bad Boys 2": This [expletive] just got real.
Any we're forgetting from non-hockey films?
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