September 30, 1999
Web posted at: 1:18 p.m. EDT (1718 GMT)

By Reviewer Paul Clinton

(CNN) -- Skating into cinemas this weekend: The new comedy "Mystery, Alaska," written by TV wunderkind David E. Kelley. He's the Emmy-winning creator of "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal" among other successful shows. The film stars Russell Crowe and Burt Reynolds.

"Mystery, Alaska" is a David-and-Goliath sports story filmed nearly two years ago in Alberta, Canada, and it's just now seeing the light of day. Mystery is a fictional Alaskan town of 633 souls, all of whom live and die for the traditional Saturday game of hockey. It's been played every weekend on a frozen pond near town for years.

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Theatrical preview for "Mystery, Alaska" Windows Media 28K 80K

Hank Azaria plays Charles Danner, a local outcast who fled the town years before and now is a sports writer in New York. He puts the village on the map with a story in Sports Illustrated about the town's Saturday game. This leads to a showdown that's mainly a publicity stunt, the New York Rangers facing off against the boys from Mystery on their own turf.

Those boys include New Zealand-born, Australian-raised Crowe ("L.A. Confidential," 1997). He plays John Biebe, Mystery's unflinching sheriff, and a 13-year veteran of the team. Reynolds plays the local hockey expert, Judge Walter Burns, whose son (Scott Grimes) is on the team. Ron Eldard ("Deep Impact," 1998) plays "Shank" Marden, the town's lothario, a leading scorer on and off the ice.

Rounding out the cast are Colm Meaney ("Star Trek: Deep Space Nine") as Scott Pitcher, the town's no-nonsense mayor; and Lolita Davidovich as his wife Mary Jane. Mary McCormack plays Donna Biebe, wife of John.

And when the big boys come to Mystery, everyone must re-evaluate their faith in themselves and their hometown.

"Mystery, Alaska" has its heart in the right place, but it's on thin ice when it comes to sustaining its plot.

Conflicts between characters are introduced then never really carried through. The film's pacing is slow and sloppy, and it takes forever to set up its central premise.

M. Jay Roach, who directed both "Austin Powers" films, never seems to get a firm handle on this rambling script by Kelley and Sean O'Byrne. The writers played together on Princeton's varsity hockey team so they have an understanding and love of the game.

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Unfortunately that doesn't transfer into a tight and cohesive feature film script. Kelley has been wildly successful writing for the one-hour television format. But so far his films -- "For Gillian on Her 37th Birthday" (1996) and this year's "Lake Placid" -- haven't been as popular with the public.

It's possible to get caught up, now and then, in the film's overall spirit, but ultimately even the final game between the locals and the pros feels slightly canned. Russell lends more acting muscle to this project than it deserves, and Reynolds is in fine form as the town's conscience and leading citizen.

The bottom line: This basic theme -- underdog faces insurmountable odds -- has been overused and done better.

"Mystery, Alaska" is rated R language and sexuality, with a running time of 153 minutes.