Documentary Review of Red Penguins And The Dark Side Of Russian Hockey

Documentary Review of Red Penguins And The Dark Side Of Russian Hockey

By John Saeger

The Last Dance will not only be remembered as the signature sports documentary of 2020, but the Michael Jordan series will also go down as the sports highlight of the year. Red Penguins, a film that explores an American attempt at owning the Soviet Red Army hockey team, is a memorable runner-up. The hockey documentary brings together the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian mob underworld, and Hollywood. 

Directed by Gabe Polsky, who also captained the 2014 Russian hockey documentary Red Army, Red Penguins picks up as the U.S.S.R. collapses. The owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins purchased the Red Army’s hockey team in order to funnel Russian talent to Pittsburgh. Their attempt turned into a nightmare. The investors inherited an arena in such a state of disrepair that spectators could not see the ice through the scratched plexiglass enveloping the rink. In order to turn the franchise around, the team gravited to a marketing guru whose high energy infuses the film with zany humor. 

The documentary highlights marketing stunts that would tame Slapshot into a G-rating. Strippers served as cheerleaders, circus bears were on-ice entertainment, and Free Beer Nights allowed teens to get wasted in the stands. Giveaways frequently included American products, although Russia’s dire economic situation prompted one prize recipient to sell his new Jeep for $20,000 less than the going rate after winning the vehicle. 

The fan’s eagerness to sell the Jeep came from fear of it being stolen by criminals whose frequent work plays into the Red Penguin calamity. Rampant Russian crime after the collapse of the Soviet Union is a large aspect of the documentary. Fraudulent misuse of team funds and increasing interaction with the Russian mafia forces the film to take a sobering turn. Red Penguins reveals murders and crime as chaos reigned during the 1993 Constitutional Crisis and the ascent of Vladimir Putin. 

Red Penguins gives appropriate context to the on-ice wackiness by noting the poverty and danger many Russians faced at the time. The interest in corporations like Disney and Nike in a Moscow hockey team is balanced by ushers rationing toilet paper for fans entering bathrooms. The team strategy to prevent theft of the in-demand item is just one in a memorable series of clashes between Russian and American culture in the film. 

You do not have to be a hockey fan to be enthralled by Red Penguins. Polsky’s documentary has more than its fair share of entertaining moments and riveting interviews. It is not often that a hockey film interviews a Russian businessman who was also on Interpol’s most wanted list. There is also a great deal of levity throughout the documentary that goes beyond sports and marketing gimmicks. Ranging from loose morals to businessmen who were unprepared for the baggage that came with their purchase, Red Penguins is packed with made-for-Hollywood chaos surrounding the Red Army team. 

About the Author: John Saeger is a music and film writer from Philadelphia. He has written the pop-culture blog Long After Dark, a site dedicated to the arts in the City of Brotherly Love and beyond, since 2017.
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