TORONTO - There's certainly nothing more Canadian than hockey.
So it's not surprising then that the movie opening this year's Toronto International Film Festival is one that celebrates our country's love for the game.
But it is surprising that the man behind "Score: A Hockey Musical" says he wasn't sure his film would even get accepted into the festival, let alone open it.
"When you're making these things you always hope that you'll get into TIFF. The fact that it's opening is a huge honour but it's also completely surreal," Michael McGowan tells CTV.ca. "This is my third film at TIFF and compared to the other two … opening is just exponentially bigger and kind of crazy."
The Toronto-born director is no stranger to paying homage to his home country -- 2008's much acclaimed "One Week" chronicled one man's quest to find himself on a cross-Canada trek -- but combining the rough game of hockey with choreographed song and dance was a challenge like none other.
"In Canada we do hockey and music so well and it seemed like an absurd enough and intriguing enough idea to at least try and write a script around that."
McGowan, who also wrote and produced the film, says he has wanted to do a musical for a while and when this idea came to him -- and he admits he's still not sure how it even did -- it seemed like the perfect thing to try to do.
But not everyone believed he could pull it off.
"(Some people) laughed and then they said, ‘Are you serious?' And I said, ‘Yeah, I'm serious' … but it always got a laugh and I thought that was a great sign," says McGowan, who started writing the script in January, 2009.
In the movie, 17-year-old Farley Gordon (played by newcomer Noah Reid) gets "discovered" while playing a game of shinny one day with some pals and is soon turned into an overnight hockey success, much to the chagrin of his New Age parents played by Olivia Newton-John and Marc Jordan.
Even though his answer to conflict is quoting Gandhi, Farley soon realizes he's going to have to toughen up and learn to fight to stay in the game. The same applies if he wants a chance to turn his relationship with his best friend Eve (Allie MacDonald) into something more.
The film also has cameos from the likes of Nelly Furtado, Theo Fleury and Walter Gretzky.
McGowan, who grew up playing hockey but has no experience in music, also wrote most of the lyrics for the 20 songs in the film. He collaborated with Canadian musicians Hawksley Workman (who also appears in the film as rink rat Gump) on five of the tunes, while the Barenaked Ladies contributed a song called "Darryl vs. The Kid." Olivia Newton-John, her co-star Marc Jordan and his real-life wife Amy Sky also worked together and wrote "Hugs."
Rather than just being random outbursts of song, all of the music in the film serves to move the plot forward.
The dance numbers were choreographed by Amy Wright and McGowan says it was a leap of faith for everyone involved as to how the movements would actually translate onto the ice.
"I was deathly afraid this was not going to work at all and it was great how it just came together."
McGowan also pays homage to Toronto in the movie, showcasing everything from Nathan Philips Square, the Art Gallery of Ontario and Dundas Square, to a homemade rink in Wychwood Park.
"I had the impossible task of making a love letter to Toronto in February but I love the city … it's fun to show your city and romanticize a place."
While hockey is always front and centre in this country, no one expected the frenzy that resulted from Canada winning the Gold Medal at the Olympics last February on home ice in Vancouver.
The win happened while the film was shooting and ironically enough the scene they shot the day after the win involved a song that asks Farley if he wants to be the next Sidney Crosby.
"For everything from sort of Olivia (Newton-John) being more present in stuff like ‘Glee' to the hockey (win) and everything, it seemed like our timing might be pretty good on this one."
McGowan will be able to see whether he is right when the movie opens TIFF tonight at a special gala screening at Roy Thompson Hall, as well as four other film festivals across the country later this month.
"We have so few opportunities to express our patriotism. If this was just being hit over the head with a gallon of maple syrup it wouldn't work but it's about a kid trying to find himself and a romance. It's entertaining.
"It does all the things it needs to do so therefore if that's all working then really setting it in a particular time and a place will hopefully be universal in its appeal."
