Toronto the Good sends Goon movie posters to penalty box

No sex please, we’re Torontonians: This sentiment seems to be the message the city is putting forward after it removed 38 outdoor posters for the new hockey comedy Goon that it deemed inappropriate.

According to Alliance films, the move was carried out across Toronto on the eve of the film’s Feb. 24 release. The posters in question feature Goon writer/ actor/ producer Jay Baruchel marking a sexually suggestive gesture with his tongue and fingers.

“Another classic example of the cultural divide between Quebec and Ontario, I guess,” Baruchel said in a statement.

“Transit shelters are on city streets, we’re concerned and interested in what the public thinks,” said Elyse Parker, a director in Toronto’s transportation services who manages the city’s street furniture program.

“We simply passed this ( public) complaint onto Astral for investigation and they determined that they would remove it.”

After two weeks on display, the posters were taken down the same night as the film’s Toronto premiere Wednesday. The removed posters will be replaced with the other three promotional ads featuring costars Sean Willam Scott and Liev Schreiber, Parker says. ( One of the approved posters features Schreiber oozing blood from his bruised mouth.)

In a statement issued by Alliance Films, the movie’s distributor, director Mike Dowse said, “I question whether this has to do with Jay’s tongue or his ability to burn Maple Leafs’ jerseys, neither of which are offensive in any way.”

Goon opens today.