RED PENGUINS (B) - This is quite the ribald tale of the time some Americans thought it would be good, after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early '90s, to purchase a stake in the Russian Red Army hockey team. Lawlessness ensued.
The star here is Steven Warshaw, a lawyer and marketing savant, who relocates to Moscow to start working his magic among the ragtag remnants of the communist era. He implements the equivalent of nickel-beer nights and stripper entertainment between periods. But he must also deal with some shady figures -- some holdovers from the previous administration and some "entrepreneurs" popping up in the newly liberated economy of Russia.
Warshaw, working on behalf of the American owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins, says he expected a certain level of graft but was shocked at the avarice that suckled from the organization. Mob activity was suspected. One holdover, general manager Valery Gushin, still has a glint in his eye as he fondly recalls the Wild West era. While there's fun to be had here, you get the feeling that the playful presentation is glossing over some real harm that resulted from this culture clash.
Bonus sighting: Longtime Chicago Blackhawks announcer Pat Foley signs on to overdub some play-by-play over some of the archival footage.
THE RUSSIAN FIVE (B-minus) - You'll need to be more than a casual hockey fan to appreciate this documentary about the Detroit Red Wings' early 1990s assemblage of elite Russian hockey players, which unleashed the international model on the NHL. But if you do appreciate the sport (or did back then), you likely will enjoy this heartfelt portrait of those core five players and the championship run they engineered along with longtime North American captain Steve Yzerman.
Newcomer Joshua Riehl produces a slick and warm retelling of a notable era in the NHL while humanizing each man through archival footage and present-day interviews. Random celebrity guest here is actor Jeff Daniels, a lifelong Red Wings fan (and Central Michigan University alum), who conveys the joy the depressed city felt in building toward its first Stanley Cup championships since the postwar glory of Gordie Howe and gang.
Former general manager Jim Devellano is on hand to explain how he transformed the team from the lean 1980s under new ownership to expending draft choices on the stars of the Red Army team who were no guarantees to cross over to the West. At some point, tragedy strikes at the height of the celebrations, and the narrative is leavened with genuine emotion, providing a layer of gravitas to this labor of love.
BONUS TRACK
"Red Penguins" has a lively soundtrack, including this nugget, "Start Wearing Purple" by Gogol Bordello:
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