Mystery, Alaska

In the tiny town of Mystery, Alaska, kids play pond hockey the way their warmer counterparts play basketball, and the most insulting thing you can say about a man is that he skates like a homosexual. So when Mystery's legendary amateur hockey team -- whose captain, John Biebe (Russell Crowe), also acts as town sheriff -- is asked to play a publicity game against NHL giants the New York Rangers, the town suddenly finds its dignity at stake. More than just a display of one town's obsession with a sport, this film explores life within the close-knit community without being hoky or condescending.

Mystery has its characters, but none of the exaggerated small-town caricatures that would have been so easy for director Jay Roach to lean on: the hard-ass judge (Burt Reynolds) isn't unbelievably cold-hearted; the big, dumb hockey player isn't painfully stupid; and the town floozy is male. Peeking out from behind Mystery's preparations for the big game are stories that draw delicate comparisons between small-town folk and big-city people -- betrayal and jealousy turn out to be innate human conditions, regardless of setting -- while also revealing details that remain specific to tiny communities, like the threatening pull of more exciting cities. All this deep thought is well-balanced with the climactic hockey game, which is white-knuckle intense and teaches the kids a few lessons on winning and losing.

-- Jumana Farouky