Okay so. A curling comedy. With Rob Gronkowski. And Mickey Rourke playing someone called “The Plow King.”
I genuinely cannot tell if The Roaring Game is brilliant or completely unhinged but either way I watched The Roaring Game trailer three times and I’m still processing. Brainstorm Media just dropped this and it’s… a lot. It’s a LOT.
The premise: Darin Brooks plays Ricky, a high school janitor who loses his girlfriend when she gets selected for Team USA hockey. His solution? Assemble a ragtag curling team to compete at the World Games and win her back. Yes. Through curling. The sport where you aggressively sweep ice while yelling.
The “his janitorial skills transfer to sweeping on ice” joke writes itself and the trailer absolutely leans into it. There’s a shot early on where they literally cut from him mopping a floor to him sweeping ice and I cannot tell if that’s supposed to be the joke or if we’re meant to take it seriously. Either way I’ve been thinking about it for twenty minutes.
The Cast Situation Is Sending Me
Mickey Rourke shows up credited as “The Plow King” and I genuinely do not know what that means in the context of curling but I need to find out immediately. There’s like two seconds of him in the trailer looking absolutely menacing and it’s giving villain energy but also… it’s a curling movie so how menacing can anyone really be?
Then there’s Gronk. Just casually in an indie curling comedy. No explanation given.
My first thought was “okay weird stunt casting.” Second thought: wait the Olympics are in February. Third thought: oh they’re absolutely doing this on purpose. February 6, 2026 release, right as curling gets its 48 hours of cultural relevance. I’ve already seen people on Twitter calling this “Kingpin on ice” which… yeah. That’s the whole thing.
This Is Either Genius or Chaos
The source material straight up compares this to Kingpin and that’s both accurate and dangerous. Kingpin works because Bill Murray commits fully to being unhinged. This has Mickey Rourke as “The Plow King” which could hit the same notes or could be completely baffling.
Director Tom DeNucci made something called Arlo: The Burping Pig so we’re dealing with range here.
The Rhode Island Film Festival premiere from 2025 gives it some indie legitimacy maybe? I think? I’m genuinely not sure what to expect from this and that’s either exciting or concerning. Training montage. Team of lovable weirdos. You’ve seen this formula before except usually the sport isn’t curling and Bill Murray is there being–
What’s Living Rent-Free
“The Plow King” — Zero context. Maximum confusion. Need answers.
Gronk in a curling movie — Nobody asked for this. Somehow that makes it better?
That mop-to-ice-sweep cut — Is that the joke?? I can’t tell.
February 6 timing — Right before Olympics discourse peaks. Calculated chaos.
FAQ: The Roaring Game Trailer Breakdown
Why is everyone comparing The Roaring Game to Kingpin?
Because it’s an underdog sports comedy about a “lesser” sport with a ragtag team of misfits and a villain figure. The formula is identical. Whether Mickey Rourke as “The Plow King” can hit the same energy as Bill Murray being unhinged is the actual question and I’m not betting either way.
How does Rob Gronkowski end up in an indie curling comedy?
Genuinely no idea. The trailer doesn’t explain his character, his role, or why a retired NFL tight end is involved in competitive curling. Olympics timing makes sense I guess? But also this is deeply strange and I keep–
